Troika will probably return to Athens in February

The Greek government now expects the return of Troika to Athens in early February as a high ranking official of the Finance Ministry said. The negotiation has already lasted four months but it does not seem to be coming to an end because the longer Troika delays its return, more new issues arise, such as the reversals in the special payrolls following the decision by the Council of State.
 
IMF spokesman William Murray said today that "there is no specific date for the return of the Troika team to Greece."
 
According to information, Troika already raises the fiscal gap at 1.5 billion euros for 2014 and 3 billion euros for 2015. The pending issues are many as besides the 50-450 million euros estimated that might be needed to meet the changes in the salaries of uniformed personnel, Troika has rejected and equivalent measures proposed by the Greek side to fill the gap of 300 million euros on maintaining the reduced VAT rate of 13% and for the deviation of 400 million euros from new property taxes.