Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appeared confident that Greece will return to the markets next year, as his statement was published in an interview carried by an Athens weekly on Sunday.
Moreover, the leftist leader also expressed optimism that the recession-battered country will exit its bailout program – currently number three – even before it expires.
In the interview in the weekly “RealNews”, Tsipras also hints at Cabinet changes after May 24, while again criticizing the main opposition over its policies.
In a different vein, EC Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said it was the current Tsipras government’s choice to raise taxes instead of cutting spending, in referring to the latest austerity measures mandated under last summer’s third bailout.
In an interview published in the Sunday edition of the Athens daily “Kathimerini”, the Latvian Commissioner also lowered expectations for results of the coming May 24 Eurogroup meeting, which is expected to seal an agreement between Athens and institutional creditors over a now delayed first review of the Greek program (third bailout).
Dombrovskis was quoted as saying that medium-term and long-term measures dealing with Greek debt relief will not have been concluded by that date.
In again citing the “taxes vs. spending cuts” dilemma, the top European official said the European side emphasized to the leftist Greek government that reducing state expenditures would affect growth prospects less than tax hikes. He added that the Commission also had a series of studies to prove its point.
“In the end the Greek authorities decide over the measures. The Greek government had a strong preference to raise taxes and not cut expenditures,” he said.
