Greek Deputy PM and Economy Minister Yannis Dragasakis referred to this week’s draft amendment unveiling a successor law for a recently expired legal framework to protect primary residences as the “result of compromise with the institutions, with the priority being the interests of borrowers.”
Dragasakis, viewed as one of the architects of the draft bill, spoke in Parliament on Wednesday, less than a day after the delayed draft legislation was finally submitted. In citing the “institutions” Dragasakis was referring to Greece’s European creditors, which have not released a 975-million-euro tranche to Athens, primarily due to delays in presenting the successor law.
The high-ranking Tsipras government member also cited what he called a “fine balance” struck in negotiations with creditors between “social needs”, fiscal opportunities and the state of Greece’s “bad debt”-burdened systemic banks.
“Either with or without memorandums, pan-European supervision affects banks,” Dragasakis said in a characteristic burst of ‘real politik” from the podium of Greece’s parliament.
He also revealed that based on banks’ figures the percentage of “strategic defaulters” in the country reaches 25 percent of the total of non-performing loans.
At the same time, and with an eye to upcoming elections, Dragasakis returned to his “pet project” of creating a “parallel banking system” in the thrice bailed-out Eurozone member-state.
