European Commission: HRADF must remain on Greek hands

"The ownership of the Greek privatization program should remain in the hands of Greek authorities. The privatization program is a very basic part of Greece’s efforts to reduce its debt," Olli Rehn spokesman Simon O'Connor said, according to Dow Jones.

“The privatization program will be discussed in the next assessment of the Τroika. We will clearly discuss the situation of the privatization process and look how it can proceed efficiently.”

Regarding the scenarios for the transfer of the administration of privatizations to a holding company based in Luxemburg and under foreign management, O 'Connor did not deny the idea, but said that neither the European Commission nor the European finance ministers have maid their decision.


Reuters: Greek state assets to be transferred to a holding company

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that the international creditors of Greece will ask next month to transfer state assets from the real estate market to a holding company that will be managed by the eurozone in order to give new impetus the privatization effort.

The plan, which was first proposed to Greece two years ago, is reflecting the growing frustration with Greece which probably will require further aid as it has made little progress in reforming its public sector and the sale of assets, Reuters says.

"The main point will be to maximize the value of state-owned assets in Greece in order to make these figures more attractive for investors," European Stability Mechanism (ESM) spokesman said, adding that the project has not been discussed by eurozone finance ministers.