Venizelos: “The new loan must be assured before the 6th installment”

According to information, deputy PM and finance minister Evaggelos Venizelos asked his counterparts in Brussels to finish with all the technical details for the new loan program to Greece at the end of August and before the 6th tranche.

In his address, he asked his colleagues to send a clear signal of stability in the Eurozone toward the markets today, as the implementation of the loan program is a prerequisite for the sustainability of our public debt, and the sustainability of the public debt is the basis of the program.

Eurogroup circles mentioned that the Greek minister said he understands the difficulty faced by many governments in embarking on a new loan program without private sector participation, as well as the institutional role of the ECB, upon which the funding and liquidity of Greek banks, and hence the Greek economy, depends.

According to the same circles, one can tell how important it is to find a solution, by the assertion in Venizelos’ intervention that “Greece is a laboratory now, where the strength of the Eurozone is being tested and the protection of Greece is the self-protection of the Eurozone”.

He assured them about the government’s will to implement the program agreed upon with the Troika in a timely manner, and informed them about the appointment, in consultation with the opposition parties, of the board of the Privatization Fund.

He also stressed the importance of technical assistance from the EC and member states of the Eurozone in crucial issues such as the fight against tax evasion and the formation of a new national tax system. He mentioned the special importance of the rapid availability of a budget for structural and social funds in Greece, under the ESPA framework, and more broadly in cooperation with the European Investment Bank, as eventually everything is judged in the field of real economy and development.