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The
review has dragged on for months, in large part due to a rift
between the European Union and the International Monetary Fund
over Greece's bailout performance and its fiscal goals next year
and beyond when the current bailout program expires.
Government ministers and technocrats were tight lipped as they
gathered at a central Athens hotel for negotiations. Members of
a left-wing trade union, PAME, said they had scheduled a protest
there on Wednesday evening.
"Today we will be examining the fiscal gap and any steps which
should be taken after 2018," a government official said.
The uncertainty surrounding Greece's bailout talks has revived
fears of a new financial crisis in the euro zone, just as
investors' nerves are jarred by unpredictable election races in
the Netherlands, France and Europe's paymaster, Germany.
Greece does not need loans until the third quarter, but if the
bailout funds are not dispersed in time Greece will face an
elevated risk of defaulting on debt repayments worth about 7.5
billion euros in July.
Europe says Athens is on track to meet its 2018 target for a 3.5
percent primary surplus - which excludes debt servicing costs.
The IMF, still undecided on whether it will participate in
Greece's third rescue package, says Athens cannot meet its
targets unless it is granted further debt relief and adopts
extra belt-tightening measures.
To help break the impasse, the leftist-led government last week
agreed to pre-legislate unpopular reforms, including changes in
income tax and pension spending, that would come into effect in
2019.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' government, whose popularity is
sagging, wants to conclude the review swiftly, hoping that the
country will be included in the European Central Bank's
bond-buying program and return to bond markets this year.
(Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas, writing by Renee Maltezou;
editing by Richard Lough)
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