European Stability Mechanism (ESM) Managing Director Klaus Regling stressed over the weekend that successive Greek prime ministers have agreed on the level of primary budget surplus targets stipulated in bailout agreements.
“There is no dispute on the level of the primary budget surpluses required. It has been signed by all the leaders, including Greek PM Alexis Tsipras,” Regling was quoted as saying by Spanish mass daily “El Pais”.
He was referring to the goal for 2018, the last year of the current (third) bailout.
Moreover, he said European creditors consider that the measures taken so far are sufficient for Greece to meet the specific target in 2018 — in opposition to the IMF’s forecasts.
Regling said Athens does not dispute the fact that it must meet the target for 2018, but rather the number of years it must achieve the same level of budget surpluses.
In touching on a particularly contentious point in the language that’s accompanied the current bailout agreement, the ESM chief said that although the 3.5-percent (of GDP) target must be met in 2018 and in the medium term, “there’s no definition for what medium-term mean, however, we have time to negotiate this.”
Finally, he said European creditors are working hard to keep the IMF involved in the Greek program.
