The party leaders of the Greek Government have agreed definitively on a package of austerity measures as a condition for further international financial support. There is a final agreement, was announced by the Office of Prime Lucas Papademos. The negotiations have been successfully concluded.
.At night, the leaders of the three parties supporting the interim Government had already agreed to 90 per cent of the savings package. Still cuts in State pensions were open. The Government had agreed in principle on additional savings requested by the international donors amounting to around three billion euros, the Bureau of Papademos was announced by now. An agreement had been reached with the reductions in pensions. Especially the far-right LAOS party, which is part of the Government in addition to the Socialists and conservatives, had blocked, however.
The savings package includes in addition to pension cuts including a reduction in the minimum wage on 586 euros gross (down 22%) as well as the removal of 15,000 jobs in the public sector until the end of the year. In protest against the savings, a new general strike begins in Greece on Friday morning. Recusal should take under the will of the trade unions in 48 hours.
The austerity measures are a prerequisite for new financial aid from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the amount of at least EUR 130 billion. In addition, negotiations with the Greek private creditors on a debt-cutting is to relieve the land around €100 billion run. The Finance Ministers of the euro area want to come together in the evening in Brussels to discuss the new Greece aid. Without the aid, the State failure threatens Greece in March.
Schaeuble expects no decision.
Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (CDU) expected at the meeting but no decision about the second utility for Greece. There will be no results, said Schaeuble. The negotiations are well advanced, but we are not ready. The Chairman of the Eurogroup, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker expressed similarly: there is still too many open points that would have to be clarified. The decision will be taken next week.
IMF Chief Christine Lagarde was called the agreement of Athens but very encouraging. Even Schaeuble was confident that Greece receives in time new financial aid before the bankruptcy threatens the country mid March. For Schäuble sees Greece duty: the country must first implement austerity measures before it could expect money from the planned second utility: The agreement is, as far as I know, not so that it is already ready for cleaning. But this is a State of the negotiations on the agreed, Schaeuble said.
However, the Greek Finance Minister, Evangelos Venizelos, called on his colleagues to ratify the agreement reached by his Government. At the same time, he announced that in the negotiation of a debt cut for his country the banks have agreed to an agreement. There is an agreement with private creditors on the basic parameters such a Forderungsverzichts.
The European Central Bank (ECB) left also further open its participation in the debt section for Greece. All speculation about the participation of the ECB on the losses are without any Foundation, said ECB chief Mario Draghi. He could say at the earliest after the meeting of Finance Ministers of the euro, what was possible. Draghi said he continues to reject any trick that they bypass the governing contracts. These prohibit the direct financing of government debt the Federal Reserve.
The Federal Reserve is one of the biggest debtor of Greece because it buys Government bonds of beaten at euro States such as Greece since May 2010 in the secondary market. Economists think it conceivable that the ECB transfers their Greek Government bonds worth of estimated 45 billion euro - which is likely have bought them at a discount of approximately 25 percent - no gain or loss to the Rescue Fund EFSF. This could give the profits to the Government of Athens. Thus the Federal Reserve would not breach the prohibition of public sector finance with the music press.
The parties in the Bundestag want already advise the settlement of Greece on Friday on the approval of additional financial aid for the country. The Bundestag would taught at eight o'clock in the Chancellery by Chancellor Angela Merkel on the situation, it was said in political circles. Then, special sessions of all the groups would take place at nine o'clock. According to a Union spokesman should, discusses this on the basis of the deliberations of the euro Finance Ministers which action needs arising for the Parliament. So, a special meeting of the Bundestag is possible next week.
