ATHENS: A team of experts from the EU, the IMF and the ECB head to Athens this week to audit Greece’s finances and decide whether to release more bailout money, Greek finance ministry sources said yesterday.
“The experts are arriving tomorrow (Tuesday), while their chiefs, high-ranking troika officials, are to meet finance minister Yannis Stournaras on June 10,” a ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Stournaras was also scheduled to meet later yesterday the European Union’s taxation commissioner Algirdas Semeta, who is currently on a two-day visit to the Greek capital.
According to Greek media reports, the new audit is necessary to the release of a tranche of ¤3.3bn ($4.3bn) of loans approved in May.
The troika is looking to see what progress Greece has made in overhauling its state administration and liberalising its energy sector, the source continued.
Last week, Greece received a vote of confidence from international creditors over progress in overhauling its stricken economy, and a fresh injection of cash from the International Monetary Fund.
In Washington, the IMF announced it had released ¤1.74bn in fresh funds after Greece passed a third performance review, part of the terms of the joint IMF-EU bailout.
IMF chief Christine Lagarde praised Greek efforts to meet their commitments.
“The Greek authorities have made commendable progress in reducing fiscal and external imbalances and in restoring competitiveness,” she said in a statement.
And Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, said further debt relief for Greece could be discussed next year if Athens stays on track with its recovery programme.
“This is a matter to be discussed if necessary in April 2014 under the conditions,” he said, adding “we have the first signals of the return of the economy... for economic recovery next year.”
Finance Minister Stournaras said Monday that foreign tourists were key to allowing Greece to return to economic growth next year. “We’re staying cautious, because a lot depends on the tourists. If more than 16 million of them come to Greece, then our targets can be reached,” he told the French daily Les Echos.
Stournaras insisted he was confident the Greek economy can return to growth in 2014 and that would enable Greece to ask for additional debt relief from its eurozone partners.
Separately, one of Greece’s four biggest banks, Alpha Bank, announced Monday that it has succeeded in attracting sufficient private investment to avoid being nationalised.
Alpha Bank said in a statement that foreign investors contributed significantly to its rights issue and private placement, which were held last month.
AFP
