Greece’s EU lenders have been working on a plan to offer the country gradual debt relief on condition that it adopts additional reforms by 2022, the Agora weekly newspaper reported on Saturday.
They would initially allow lower interest rates and longer maturities on Greece’s 316 billion euro (US$352 billion) debt, the paper said.
At a later stage, there would be talks on linking debt payments to economic growth provided Athens implemented measures to be agreed with creditors by 2022, it added.
Photo: EPA
The plan has been discussed among officials from the European Commission, the euro zone’s rescue fund, the European Central Bank and the larger euro zone nations, the paper said.
The lenders have publicly spoken about granting debt relief to Greece on condition reforms are completed.
Asked about the report, Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb said: “At this moment, we are not looking at debt relief, but at completing the third program’s first interim review.”
On Thursday, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairman of the eurozone finance ministers group, had said they were concerned with the quality of the reforms Greece had promised in return for its bailout.
Negotiations between the heads of the EU/IMF mission reviewing the country’s progress on a pensions overhaul, fiscal targets and the handling of bad loans took a break earlier this month.
It was unclear when the lenders would return in Athens. Without their positive first assessment of the reforms, Greece cannot start relief talks it is seeking to show austerity-weary Greeks their sacrifices are paying off.
Speaking after an EU summit that on Friday agreed a deal to help keep Britain in the bloc and tackle the region’s migration crisis, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said all EU partners agreed the review needed to conclude as soon as possible.
Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos on Saturday said that differences between the EU and the IMF over the bailout program were undermining government efforts to help the Greek economy recover after years of recession.
The IMF has said that it stands ready to support Greece only if the country’s EU partners granted it “significant” debt relief.
However, Europe has made clear that it wants conclusion of the review before launching debt relief talks.
The IMF’s director for Europe, Poul Thomsen, last week said that Greece would also need to implement extra measures worth about 9 billion euros to meet its fiscal targets by 2018.
“The whole pressure is on us. So, I can’t see how the IMF thinks its role as that of an “honest broker,” Tsakalotos said in an interview with weekly Realnews paper.
“Footdragging in the negotiations is hindering the government strategy to get out of the vicious circle of measures-recession-new measures,” he said.
In an interview with another Greek newspaper, Greek Economy Minister George Stathakis said the review could be wrapped up by the end of next month.
“The target for the Catholic Easter [March 27] is absolutely realistic,” he was quoted as saying in the weekly Ependysi. “I believe that there will be a deal.”
TAKING STOCK: A Taiwanese cookware firm in Vietnam urged customers to assess inventory or place orders early so shipments can reach the US while tariffs are paused Taiwanese businesses in Vietnam are exploring alternatives after the White House imposed a 46 percent import duty on Vietnamese goods, following US President Donald Trump’s announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on the US’ trading partners. Lo Shih-liang (羅世良), chairman of Brico Industry Co (裕茂工業), a Taiwanese company that manufactures cast iron cookware and stove components in Vietnam, said that more than 40 percent of his business was tied to the US market, describing the constant US policy shifts as an emotional roller coaster. “I work during the day and stay up all night watching the news. I’ve been following US news until 3am
UNCERTAINTY: Innolux activated a stringent supply chain management mechanism, as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ensure optimal inventory levels for customers Flat-panel display makers AUO Corp (友達) and Innolux Corp (群創) yesterday said that about 12 to 20 percent of their display business is at risk of potential US tariffs and that they would relocate production or shipment destinations to mitigate the levies’ effects. US tariffs would have a direct impact of US$200 million on AUO’s revenue, company chairman Paul Peng (彭雙浪) told reporters on the sidelines of the Touch Taiwan trade show in Taipei yesterday. That would make up about 12 percent of the company’s overall revenue. To cope with the tariff uncertainty, AUO plans to allocate its production to manufacturing facilities in
COLLABORATION: Given Taiwan’s key position in global supply chains, the US firm is discussing strategies with local partners and clients to deal with global uncertainties Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday said it is meeting with local ecosystem partners, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), to discuss strategies, including long-term manufacturing, to navigate uncertainties such as US tariffs, as Taiwan occupies an important position in global supply chains. AMD chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) told reporters that Taiwan is an important part of the chip designer’s ecosystem and she is discussing with partners and customers in Taiwan to forge strong collaborations on different areas during this critical period. AMD has just become the first artificial-intelligence (AI) server chip customer of TSMC to utilize its advanced
Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and US President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. However, since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees said. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, said three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems — which have not
RSS