By N. Bellos
[email protected]
The fourth review of the ongoing Greek program should be concluded in a timely manner and at the staff level by May 24, Eurogroup president Mario Centeno underlined in a report covering the last Eurogroup meeting.
Centeno warned that a staff-level agreement was necessary this month in order to ensure that parameters for the country’s successful exit from the current (and last) bailout in August are achieved.
EU sources in Brussels this week underlined that out of the 88 “prior actions” that must be completed for the fourth review of the current memorandum, 75 remained pending. Some of these, the sources acknowledge, will remain unfinished due to “external reasons” beyond the power of the Greek government.
Privatizations, such as the landmark Helleniko property redevelopment project in coastal southeast Athens, that are still plagued by legal and court challenges are included in this category of unfinished “prior actions”.
Nevertheless, the same sources said the “majority” of prior actions, called “key deliverables” by the Commission, must be fulfilled.
Currently, the Eurogroup meeting of May 24 remains the target, meaning that the Tsipras government must achieve more progress in two weeks than it recorded in the entire previous period in order to overcome delays.
Creditors’ top auditors, meanwhile, are set to return to Athens on Monday.
