Eurogroup accepts Greek reform plans – Parool.nl

Eurogroup accepts Greek reform plans – Parool.nl

24-02-15 17:13 pm

Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem (L) today in the European Parliament. © anp

A new financial crisis in Greece has been averted. This afternoon voted unanimously in the euro area countries with a long list of reforms and cutbacks that the Greek Finance Minister Varoufakis had submitted at the last minute. That allows to extend the way for the House and other parliaments to existing emergency loans for Athens until July 1

.

The Tax Office works with legacy systems or with paper, and the corruption is ingrained. Read the analysis of Yvonne Court why the Greek state needs a total renovation.

A better approach tax evasion and corruption, but wages are not going down. Read the main promises of the Greek government.

Varoufakis goes deep through the knees with his reform list

The list of measures Varoufakis is a first step, Athens should develop proposals for the end of April and amounts (cost / benefits) provided. Only when the troika – European Commission, ECB, IMF – which accepts final list, the remaining credit (approximately 7 billion) can be transferred to Athens. IMF Managing Director Lagarde previously criticized the vagueness of the plans submitted.

Varoufakis goes deep through the knees with his reform list. The election promise the sale of state-owned enterprises (used by the previous government) turning back, is gone. Privatizations that are still on the roll, be

reconsidered. Weather accepting sacked officials virgin Varoufakis with no word and the promised increase in the minimum wage will be phased in, in consultation lenders, and it should not disrupt the labor market.

Athens says further tax and VAT fraud crack down on. She wants to create a “new culture” in which tax is paid on a regular thing, even for the rich. The Greek tax authorities to be reorganized for this purpose, a task that the previous government had started. The knife goes into the large amount of “exceptions” to avoid paying tax or VAT

. Strict control

Varoufakis promises more strictly supervise both the income and expenditure of the Greek state. All non wage and pension-related expenditures are held against the light, looking for cuts. Perks for civil servants are deleted and as Prime Tsipras announced earlier decreases the number of ministries from sixteen to ten. The fees and official cars of the ministers were retrenched.

Furthermore Varoufakis aims for more efficient civil service and modernization of justice. He also wants to tackle the toxic assets from the banks, but that should not lead to evictions result of low-income people.

The IMF, like the ECB agree with the list of all ‘starting point’ for further negotiations . In a letter to Eurogroup President Dijsselbloem however Lagarde criticized the lack of “clear assurances” that Greek promises are made. Several finance ministers voiced that concern. Dijsselbloem said after the Eurogroup meeting that the package seriously enough to conclude the negotiations before July 1.

A substantial reform list was last Friday a hard condition for the lenders at all about extending the Greek emergency loans talk. Athens wants to use the now obtained financial breathing space to establish a new contract with its lenders. Therein Greece wants more room for growth and investment, as well as partial remission of the 240 billion euros that have borrowed the eurozone countries and the IMF. Dijsselbloem expects this difficult conversations will be

(By: Marc Peeperkorn).