Reporting by Louisa Bojesen and Julia Chatterley; Writing by Jessica Hartogs, CNBC
Greece’s economy minister said on Wednesday he was confident the latest debt deal struck with creditors will be completed as the country races to prevent another default, but conceded some points of concern remained.
“I think that 99 percent of what has been agreed has been practically completed… There are some extra things but I think that in the last few days we have reached more or less an agreement and everything will go through smoothly,” Giorgos Stathakis told CNBC at the OECD Forum in Paris.
“There are three points remaining, there is some concern on our behalf on the fiscal issues, in 2017. But I think there will be a solution,” Stathakis told CNBC. “Some issues are very sensitive, it is a very tight program until 2018 – it is frontloaded, that’s why the first assessment is that important on both sides so I think people are looking at small details lately.”
Last week, euro zone finance ministers agreed with Greece and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a deal that will address Athens’ requests for debt relief. Greece agreed to another round of austerity and reform measures in exchange for 10.3 billion euros ($11.42 billion) in aid.
According to media reports however, IMF senior officials later said they would not present the new proposals to the organization’s executive board until more details on specific debt relief plans for the country were given.
The deal has the backing of fellow eurogroup members, with Luxembourg’s finance minister telling CNBC the Greek government has “done its part” in carving out the bailout deal.
Pierre Gramegna, speaking from the OECD meeting in Paris, said, “The Greek government has done its part of the deal by passing a lot of legislation, part of which is very drastic for the people of Greece, which we must recognize. So I think we’re moving ahead and Grexit is now not an option,” he said, referring to fears Greece might exit the single currency.
