Greece expects bailout review to resume next week: finance minister

[February 08, 2016]  ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece expects the review of its bailout performance to resume next week and conclude two weeks later, its finance minister said on Monday.

"We must convince them ... how we will reach the 3.5 percent of GDP primary budget surplus year by year," Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos told lawmakers. "The pension and tax reforms will contribute to this in 2018."

"We expect them (mission chiefs) to return in due course, not this week but sometime next week. Technical teams continue discussing the size of the fiscal gap," he said. "Once the institutions return, we will have two weeks to the final closing (of the review)."

(Reporting by Michele Kambas)

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