A government source late Tuesday evening said the “starting point” in negotiations with creditors is a figure worth 2 percent of GDP, roughly 3.5 billion euros, in “structural moves”.
The latter phrase essentially refers to austerity measures that creditors want detailed and passed by Parliament now in order to insure that fiscal measures are met after 2018. The “structural moves” are usually reported to be a lower tax-free threshold for annual income (now at roughly 8,600 euros) as well as a harmonization (downwards) of pension rates.
The same figure, 2 percent of GDP, has long been cited as the level of extra measures demanded by creditors, especially the IMF.
The same source said the figure could be reduced in further negotiations, while adding that “no matter what the number is, it applies to both good and bad measures”.
The Greek delegation in talks with creditors’ representatives included a handful of top ministers, including FinMin Euclid Tsakalotos.
