Venizelos' commitment to a national unity government!

Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos dove into a marathon of phone conversations with the Eurogroup President Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker, Commissioner Mr. Olli Rehn and German Finance Minister Mr. Wolfgang Schaeuble, on Friday morning.

The Finance Minister committed himself to his interlocutors that in today’s vote of confidence, the aim is for the Government to receive a vote of confidence, not only so that it continues onwards with the PASOK MPs’ support, but also to achieve the broadest possible consensus and cooperation for the benefit of the country, with the formation of the corresponding government”.

According to information from the Finance Ministry, Mr. Venizelos assured his European partners that the goal is also to “ensure October 26th’s decisions and their implementation, which will shield Greece and establish its place within the Eurozone, respects the sacrifices of the Greek people and opens up the prospect of a return to an orderly function of the economy”.

The economy team of the government noted that “the discussions held by Mr. Venizelos today have special significance in view of the fact that next Monday, there is the planned Eurogroup meeting in Brussels. It is therefore obvious that on Monday, Greece must be able to represent itself during the Eurogroup and present the political guarantees necessary for the timely release of the sixth tranche of 8 billion, as well as in order to continue implementing the decisions of the EU Council taken on October 26th, so as to be able to receive the funds required for the PSI until the end of February, as well as those required for the recapitalization of the Greek banking system and the first installment of the new program.  The sum of these amounts is tenfold to that of the sixth tranche, around 80 billion, in order to guarantee the survival of the Greek economy”.

After the Europeans’ ultimatum that if the referendum takes place and the answer is no, then Greece would have to leave the Eurozone, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos filled in Greece’s EU partners that the government’s final decision is not to hold a referendum on the October 26th plan.

“According to the ten-point plan that Finance Minister Ev. Venizelos presented in Parliament last night, Mr. Venizelos updated his colleagues on the government’s decision not to hold a referendum, as well as on the new legal framework which has arisen due to the ten-point plan”.

What the Finance Ministry states on the sixth tranche.

The EU has approved the issuance of its share of the sixth installment towards Greece (5.8 billion out of 8 billion), but the IMF’s share is still pending. This has been clarified by the Ministry, since it admits that the money will not arrive before mid-December, since the IMF board is meeting then, and will be bound to decide upon the subject”.

Responding to reports stating that “the release of the sixth installment is not on next Monday’s Eurogroup agenda”, the Treasury explained that “it is obviously not included because the 21st of October Eurogroup decided  on the disbursement”.

As emphasized, “A clear and stable political situation in Greece is a preprequisite for the application of the entire October 26th package, starting after the release of the sixth installment, but for which there is no new decision on a Eurogroup level needed”.

It recognizes that the release of the sixth installment “presupposed a relevant decision of the IMF Board” which will not come before the completion of prior actions that the October 26th plan dictates, which should in turn be concluded by Greece before December 15th.