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SYRIZA sent to Brussels social measures instead of structural reforms

24 February 2015 / 12:02:14  GRReporter
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The European Commission confirmed the receipt of the list of reforms sent by the Greek government. Shortly after 9:30 am, its spokesman Margaritis Schinas said that Brussels had received the document on time.


The cabinet in Athens had not presented the list in a formal way. According to information from government sources, it includes the following:

- the entire first "pillar" of the programme announced in Thessaloniki last September, which consists of measures to deal with the humanitarian crisis

- a larger part of what is planned in the second "pillar" of the programme, namely settlement of outstanding tax obligations, settlement of non-performing bank loans and blocking the auctions for the so-called "primary" housing of debtors.

The reforms provided in the list of the Greek cabinet are the following:

- establishing a fair tax system

- fighting tax evasion

- fighting corruption

- fighting smuggling, especially in the markets of fuel and cigarettes

- reorganising the public sector and cutting red tape

The document describes the reforms in labour law, which will mainly affect the collective labour contracts and the negotiations on them.

At the same time, the list mentions not the reforms proposed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) but the agreement between Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and OECD President Angel Gurria on the structural reforms needed by Greece.

The list does not indicate the appointment of dismissed civil servants, as they are expected to be included in the programme assignments that are provided for in the state budget.

According to sources from the European Commission, the list of the Greek government is sufficiently comprehensive as a starting point for the successful completion of the assessment of the Greek rescue programme so far, as was decided at Friday's meeting of the Eurogroup. Brussels defined as especially encouraging the fact that Athens relies on the fight against corruption and tax evasion.
 
The same sources added that Greece would have to propose more specific reforms before the end of April, and that it should immediately begin to apply the measures stipulated in the list.

The answer of Eurogroup is expected later today, probably late in the afternoon, after the teleconference meeting. If the council of finance ministers approve the list, the parliaments of the euro zone member states will immediately trigger the ratification of the four-month extension of the rescue programme.

Tags: PoliticsList of reformsSocial measuresTax evasionFighting corruptionEurogroup
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