Greek FinMin Euclid Tsakalotos on Wednesday told members of a relevant Parliament committee that the government will not take additional austerity or tax measures, adding that figures for a new medium-term adjustment program and primary surplus budget goals will have been finalized by the end of the year.
He also said the former depend on whether the IMF asks European creditors for greater debt relief for Greece, a standing demand by the Washington-based Fund.
The UK-based academic who left the lecture amphitheaters for involvement in Greece’s leftist political opposition and subsequent Cabinet posts, spoke during debate at the committee level over a draft bill harmonizing Greek law with an EU Directive on the capital markets.
Tsakalotos said the medium-term program depends on the level of primary budget surplus targets, as a percentage of GDP, which he claimed were “under negotiation”.
The last year of the Greek program in 2018 still stipulates a very ambitious target of 3.5 percent of GDP, whereas the current year’s target is a more humble 0.5 percent of GDP.
The IMF has pressed for Greek debt relief and lower primary budget surplus targets, which European creditors oppose. Conversely, the IMF has demanded more radical reforms by Athens, such as tax and pension cuts, liberalization of the labor market, retail markets etc.
