Greece’s influential central banker issued an urgent warning on Monday for an immediate conclusion of the now utterly delayed second review of the Greek program (third bailout), saying recent negative economic figures are the result of the lack of an agreement with creditors.
In an interview with local internet site, Bank of Greece (BoG) Gov. Yannis Stournaras was quoted as saying that “…we’re not at an impasse yet, but we are very close to (with our backs to) the wall.”
The former finance minister in a previous center-right coalition government made the statement at the same time as the government was side maintained that negotiations with creditors were continuing, especially over differences in labor market reforms and liberalization.
“We’ve already seen the first negative results in the economy,” Stournaras was quoted as saying.
Speaking later in the day at an event hosted by Parliament’s Budget Office, Stournaras said positive growth rates for 2017 depend on the review closing.
Once the review is concluded, he said, attention should be focused on lifting remaining barriers to privatizations that have already been approved, as well as on better exploiting the state’s real estate holdings; dealing with NPLs in the country, and especially with so-called “strategic defaulters”; dealing with a very high public debt in tandem with “realistically” adjusting fiscal targets; and finally, changing fiscal policy towards making entrepreneurship easier.
Speaking at the same event, government vice-premier Yannis Dragassakis, one of the more seasoned lawmakers of the current Cabinet and a noted economist, maintained that the Greek side remains “within the planning framework” for achieving a conclusion of the review.
On an even more serious note, Dragassakis said “any discussion over a fourth memorandum, which it doesn’t need, is not helpful and cannot be tolerated; it is misguided and could become dangerous.”
