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Greek grief

June 1, 2011

As inspectors from the European Union and International Monetary Fund run the rule over Greece's books, the country is reportedly days away from securing another bailout installment.

https://p.dw.com/p/11Rwv
A Greek flag
The Greek economy is still on edgeImage: picture alliance / dpa

European Union officials were confident late Tuesday they were close to securing a deal with Greece and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to stave off a possible Greek debt default.

The deal, which it is now expected will be reached "in the coming days," would clear the way for the release of billions of euros in bailout funds for Greece.

The IMF has said it would withhold its share of the bailout - roughly 3.3 billion euros ($4.7 billion) of the upcoming 12-billion-euro installment - unless the EU committed itself to meeting Greece's 2012 funding needs.

EU and IMF inspectors are currently in Greece to determine whether there has been enough fiscal progress in the country ahead of the release of the fifth bailout installment - part of a 110-billion-euro bailout from the EU and IMF agreed last year.

Protesters in Syntagma Square
The austerity measures are deeply unpopular in GreeceImage: DW

"We are confident that a conclusion can be reached soon in the coming days," Amadeu Altafaj, spokesperson for EU Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn, was quoted as saying by the German press agency dpa. "We are getting very close … good progress is being made."

Stumbling blocks remain

The EU and IMF are concerned over several key stumbling blocks, such as whether international representatives will have seats on the independent committee that will oversee the sell-off of state assets, and whether these seats will have veto powers.

The Greek government of Prime Minister Giorgos Papandreou has put in place an austerity budget aimed at reining in the country's spending, but has faced significant protest action against the measures.

Last week, Papandreou announced savings measures totaling 6 billion euros, which encompassed plans to speed up privatizations and raise taxes.

The socialist government has been under pressure to make good with the conservative New Democracy party in order to clear the austerity measures. However, the opposition party is demanding lower taxes, which runs contrary to calls from the EU, which sees them as essential to Greece securing any further financial assistance.

Author: Darren Mara (dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Nicole Goebel

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