Gov’t spokesman welcomes Eurogroup debt decision, rules out more austerity
Monday’s decision at a Eurogroup meeting in Brussels to approve short-term debt relief measures for Greece was a “decisive step towards stabilizing the Greek economy and restoring trust,” the government spokesman said on Tuesday.
Speaking to the press, Dimitris Tzanakopoulos said that the government will continue negotiations with its eurozone partners for longer-term measures to reduce Greece’s huge debt pile, but stressed that Athens will “under no circumstances” agree to more belt-tightening once the bailout program is complete.
Tzanakopoulos was referring to the International Monetary Fund, which has demanded more structural measures in order to join the Greek program.
“The IMF cannot pressure the Greek government for new measures and not its European partners for lower primary surplus targets,” Tzanakopoulos said, referring to a demand that Greece maintain a primary fiscal surplus of 3.5 percent after 2018, a factor considered crucial by the IMF.
His comments echoed those of Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos who warned international creditors, including the IMF, on Monday not to pressure Athens to implement measures it had not previously agreed to.
“The Greek economy has done an enormous amount of reforms,” Tsakalotos told reporters in Brussels, adding that there should be no demands on Greece that “do not take into account the current political and social situation.”
