Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 16-01-21

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Tsipras, Lagarde agree first program review should not be delayed

[02] European Parliament approved to monitor implementation of Greek aid program

[03] No pensions cuts were demanded by the institutions, Labour ministry source says

[01] Tsipras, Lagarde agree first program review should not be delayed

According to the prime minister's office, Tsipras and Lagarde agreed that the government and the IMF should have direct communication so that each side has a clear understanding of each other's position.

The prime minister also briefed Lagarde on the audits conducted by Greek authorities for possible tax evaders who have bank counts abroad, noting it is the first time that there is political will to investigate those cases and not cover them up. Finally, he said the government is hoping to collect a significant part of this money by introducing a legislation of "self-reporting".

Following the meeting, the IMF issued a press release saying that it stands ready to continue to support Greece in achieving robust economic growth and sustainable public finances through a credible and comprehensive medium-term economic programme, but only if it was granted "significant" debt relief by its European partners.

Earlier, Tsipras said during a panel discussion that solving Europe's problems required "more Europe".

"We are doing what we can in order to progress quickly and smoothly with the implementation of the agreement," he said, and expressed hope that the disagreements and different views that occasionally arose between the three institutions representing the country's creditors would not be the cause of further delays.

"This is not the time for various 'exits', whether these concern 'Grexit' or 'Brexit', or for divisions, or walls, or differentiations," the Greek premier continued. "It is a time for more Europe: Common rules, deepening democracy, strengthening solidarity, an increased European budget in order to restrict inequalities, banking union with a European system for guaranteeing deposits," he added.

According to Tsipras, it was time for Europe to return to its founding principles, which were those of democracy, solidarity and social cohesion.

Addressing issues raised by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said the International Monetary Fund's presence in the Greek programme was essential and compared asking German lawmakers to sanction its removal to "going into a room full of dynamite with a lit candle", Tsipras made the following comment:

"I too am no supporter of the view that one should attempt to light a candle in a room full of dynamite. Neither, however, do I have the view that on this account one must constantly be in the dark. The best solution is to remove the dynamite from the room and then light the candle."

[02] European Parliament approved to monitor implementation of Greek aid program

The issue was discussed after an initiative by Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe who wrote to European Parliament President Martin Schulz last July, to find a way to give the European Parliament an oversight role.

According to the decision, the Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee will be tasked with the democratic oversight role. It will be assisted by a Financial Assistance Working Group (FAWG) comprising 30 MEPs, which will follow up on the implementation of the financial assistance programmes in more detail.

The working group will hold regular meetings with the four involved institutions (Commission, ECB, IMF, ESM) and the Greek Government. The focus of the working group will be the parliamentary scrutiny of the decision making process.

"I am delighted we have today reached agreement on a role for the European Parliament in scrutinising the implementation of the financial assistance programme for Greece. This will strengthen the monitoring of Greek reforms. It also represents a welcome injection of democratic oversight into what is often viewed as an opaque process,'' Verhofstadt commented.

"The European Parliament and elected MEPs can now play the role they deserve in helping to deliver positive change for Greece," he added.

[03] No pensions cuts were demanded by the institutions, Labour ministry source says

Speaking to ANA-MPA, the source said talks on the social security reforms were exploratory and at no point did the representatives of institutions ask to slash pensions.

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