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Greece Confident on 2nd EU-IMF Loan; Rail, Health Changes Next
July 14, 2010, 11:31 AM EDT
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told parliament the government had met targets set by the European Union and International Monetary Fund that would secure a second installment of aid.
Progress to date shows there will be no obstacle to the release of the second tranche, Papaconstantinou said, according to an e-mailed transcript of his presentation to a committee in Athens today. The budget is within targets and the 29 measures outlined by the EU and IMF for the second quarter of the year have been passed into law or implemented, he said.
Papaconstantinou said yesterday the government may resume bond sales next year and welcomed an auction of Treasury bills. Greece sold 1.625 billion euros ($2.1 billion) of 26-week bills at a yield of 4.65 percent, less than the 5 percent rate tied to 110 billion euros of three-year emergency loans that euro-area nations approved in May to prevent a default.
EU and IMF officials are due in Athens at the end of the month for the next assessment of progress to allow the second aid disbursement of 9 billion euros by September. Of that amount, 6.5 billion euros will come from the EU.
The finance minister said key measures to be completed by the end of the year include opening up closed professions, such as lawyers, pharmacists and engineers, an overhaul of the health system and the implementation of a restructuring plan for unprofitable Hellenic Railways Organization SA.
The Greek government’s goal is to reduce its deficit from 13.6 percent of gross domestic product last year to within the EU’s 3 percent limit in 2014, and it faces quarterly EU and IMF reviews. The Finance Ministry reported this week that the deficit shrank 46 percent in the first half of the year, as the government cut spending and raised taxes.
A second increase in value-added tax and higher duties on fuel, tobacco and alcohol will help boost budget revenue by about 2 billion euros, or 0.8 percent of GDP, in the second half of the year, according to the presentation.
Changes to the state-run pension system, passed last week, are among other conditions laid down by the EU and IMF for disbursement of the aid.
July 14, 2010, 11:31 AM EDT
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told parliament the government had met targets set by the European Union and International Monetary Fund that would secure a second installment of aid.
Progress to date shows there will be no obstacle to the release of the second tranche, Papaconstantinou said, according to an e-mailed transcript of his presentation to a committee in Athens today. The budget is within targets and the 29 measures outlined by the EU and IMF for the second quarter of the year have been passed into law or implemented, he said.
Papaconstantinou said yesterday the government may resume bond sales next year and welcomed an auction of Treasury bills. Greece sold 1.625 billion euros ($2.1 billion) of 26-week bills at a yield of 4.65 percent, less than the 5 percent rate tied to 110 billion euros of three-year emergency loans that euro-area nations approved in May to prevent a default.
EU and IMF officials are due in Athens at the end of the month for the next assessment of progress to allow the second aid disbursement of 9 billion euros by September. Of that amount, 6.5 billion euros will come from the EU.
The finance minister said key measures to be completed by the end of the year include opening up closed professions, such as lawyers, pharmacists and engineers, an overhaul of the health system and the implementation of a restructuring plan for unprofitable Hellenic Railways Organization SA.
The Greek government’s goal is to reduce its deficit from 13.6 percent of gross domestic product last year to within the EU’s 3 percent limit in 2014, and it faces quarterly EU and IMF reviews. The Finance Ministry reported this week that the deficit shrank 46 percent in the first half of the year, as the government cut spending and raised taxes.
A second increase in value-added tax and higher duties on fuel, tobacco and alcohol will help boost budget revenue by about 2 billion euros, or 0.8 percent of GDP, in the second half of the year, according to the presentation.
Changes to the state-run pension system, passed last week, are among other conditions laid down by the EU and IMF for disbursement of the aid.