Finance ministry sources on Tuesday dismissed a handful of same-day local press reports claiming that the leftist-rightist coalition government has promised creditors that some 130,000 auctions of foreclosed property will be held by 2021.
The same sources, albeit in an unofficial manner, said no such agreement exists.
Citing a compliance report issued for Greece by the Commission, which was the reputed basis for the press reports, the same sources said the former is informational material for Eurozone member-states and “not the text of an agreement”.
Additionally, the same sources said Monday’s Eurogroup decision to conclude the third review of the ongoing Greek bailout does not spell out a specific number of auctions that must be held.
Ubiquitous modern Greek bureaucracy, a sluggish judicial system and persistent efforts by anti-austerity protesters over the past year to block property auctions have essentially prevented the holding of such legal proceedings – usually conducted every Wednesday in local courts (eirinodikia) around the country, but with Athens hosting the “lion’s share”.
Creditors have demanded stepped up efforts to hold property auctions, which they consider as an indispensible tool in reducing the massive amount of non-performing loans (NPLs) and exposures (NPEs) held by Greek banks. The Tsipras government responded by passing legislation allowing for a full electronic auction framework.
