PM faces full agenda in next weeks
A meeting of eurozone finance ministers and the annual international trade fair in Thessaloniki, where the government traditionally outlines its economic policy for the next 12 months, signal the end of the summer lull for Greece’s leftist prime minister, who is bracing for several tough weeks ahead.
Alexis Tsipras is set to consult with his senior ministers ahead of the Eurogroup session on September 9, when European officials will expect to see signs of concrete progress in the implementation of reforms.
Greek officials will also want to gauge the creditors’ position on a set of requests by Athens that include an easing of primary surplus targets for the coming years and debt relief.
The prime minister would like to count on the support from his counterparts at a meeting of European socialist heads of state in Paris in late August.
On the domestic front, by mid-September, government officials have to prepare Tsipras’s speech for the Thessaloniki International Fair on social welfare measures to offset the impact of austerity.
The completion of the tender for the new broadcasting licenses by the end of August, administration officials hope, will meanwhile allow the SYRIZA leader to advertise the government’s ostensible drive against vested interests.
Also in the coming days, the government is set to unveil the committee which will prepare the proposal for constitutional reform for public consultation.
The findings of a cross-party committee that was set up to look into Greek claims for German war reparations are expected to be submitted to Parliament at around the same time.
