|
Greece wants debt relief to help manage its mountain of public
debt, equivalent to 180 percent of its annual economic output.
Its euro zone creditors believe forgiving it part of its debt is
not necessary as Athens already pays very low interest and has
had its repayment periods stretched out.
"There is a good possibility that we see a conclusion (of the
first review) in February," an EU official said, acknowledging
however that "robust discussions" remain ahead, including on
pension reforms, fiscal issues and the taxation of farmers.
"It is fairly safe to say, given the Christmas break, that I
don't expect a total conclusion of that in January. But February
seems like a good guess for finalizing it," the official added.
Discussions on Greece's debt relief are expected to start at the
end of the first review in parallel with talks on the
participation of the International Monetary Fund in the third
Greek aid program.
"At the end of the first review all these questions come
together: finalization of the first review, inclusion of the IMF,
therefore agreement on the necessary reform measures and then
the discussions about the debt-related issues," the official
said.
(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
