ATHENS, November 14 (RIA Novosti) – Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, who has recently returned to Athens from Brussels, warned that the risk of the country defaulting on its huge debt was still very real, the Kathimerini daily said on Wednesday.
“The troika is pressing us very hard to implement prior actions,” the minister said, referring to measures and reforms demanded by the trio of international lenders. “But the risk of an accident is very great.”
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said on Tuesday the country will receive the next tranche of EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout funds soon.
Samaras, who met with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels, said the lenders are expected release the funds “after Europe and IMF overcome their differences regarding the Greek debt.” He added that the differences were “technical by nature.”
On Tuesday Greece has had to resort to expensive short-term borrowings after eurozone finance ministers failed to reach agreement to disburse the next 31.5 bln euro tranche of bailout funds, despite the Greek government’s efforts to meet the demands of the international lenders.
Concerns surrounding the Greek fiscal crisis have sent the euro below the $1.27 mark to a two-month low against the US dollar.
The Greek parliament adopted early on Monday a highly unpopular 2013 budget making the final crucial step for securing a new 31.5-billion-euro bailout tranche from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.
The budget envisages 9.4 billion euros (almost $12 billion) in cuts, affecting mainly pensions and wages of state employees. It forecasts that the country’s GDP will decline by 4.5 percent, worse than previously expected, and the debt will increase to 346 billion euros (over $434 billion).
In addition, the Greek lawmakers have recently passed a budget austerity bill that envisions 13.5 billion euros in spending cuts as well as tax hikes and labor reforms by 2016.
