Koutentakis warns against unilateral pension cut U-turn

It would be wrong for the Greek government to unilaterally suspend the pension cuts it has told its creditors it will carry out in 2019, as that would send the wrong message to international markets, the head of the Parliament’s budget office, Frangiskos Koutentakis, told Skai TV on Saturday.

He said while the cuts are not necessary in the “strict fiscal sense,” the government will still have to come to an agreement with its creditors if it  wants to suspend them.

“There will be a problem if this is done unilaterally. It will give the message that there is a rupture, or that there is bad communication, that things are happening that have not been agreed upon,” he said.

Koutentakis said the general view of the Greek economy is positive, but the main issue now that the adjustment program is ending is the direction the country will take after August 20.

“The markets will evaluate the country risk and this will depend on the messages [Greece] will send,” he said.