The “supplementary memorandum”, which in draft form reaches 53 pages, as disclosed this week, will be set for a vote in Greece’s Parliament on the eve of a May 22 Eurogroup meeting following a revised scheduling of the emergency legislative process.
At last word on Wednesday, a vote is expected on Saturday, May 20, ahead of the Monday Eurogroup meeting, where Euro zone finance ministers will await a staff-level agreement to conclude the delayed second review of the Greek program.
Another “grey area”, as far as the Greek side is concerned, is the last year in which a primary budget surplus of 3.5 percent of GDP will be mandated, given that the draft text of the supplementary memorandum cited 2022. Nevertheless, the final decision on the last year for the very ambitious annual fiscal target will be decided at the Eurogroup venue, in tandem with whatever debt relief measures European creditors agree to extend in the medium term.
It’s almost certain, however, that the 3.5 percent figure, as a percentage of GDP, will reach until 2021, with the only question mark being the subsequent year.
The Greek issue will also be on the agenda of talks at this week’s G7 summit, the US Treasury Department announced on Wednesday.
The current leftist-rightist coalition government led by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras still retains a slim 153-MP majority out of 300 deputies in Greece’s Parliament. At least two days of debate will be necessary before the draft omnibus bill containing the latest “prior actions” is submitted to the plenum for ratification.
Specifically, 140 “prior actions” were cited in the draft supplementary memorandum disclosed this week and published in Greece by “N”, including a latest round of pension cuts, taxes and privatizations.
