Greek Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras said Tuesday that notable progress has been made in negotiations with the country's international creditors on the next bailout installment.
The Greek economy is undergoing significant fiscal adjustment program, as recommended by the troika comprising the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to put the country's debt on a sustainable path.
The twice-bailed out-euro member is now awaiting the next slice of loan installment from the troika. The creditors' representatives are in Athens to carry out a regular inspection on the progress of the program implementation.
Earlier, the group of Eurozone finance ministers, also known as the Eurogroup, and the IMF had hailed Greece for the progress made in implementing the required actions.
In May, the Eurogroup approved EUR 7.5 billion aid disbursement to Greece to be payed out in two sub-tranches. A first sub-tranche of EUR 4.2 billion was handed over last month and the disbursement of the second sub-tranche will be made in June.
Earlier this month, the IMF's Executive Board approved EUR 1.74 billion worth loan to Greece which, the lender said, will be disbursed after the conclusion of the third review.
However, reports on Tuesday suggested that the troika has found worrying deficits in the national health care provider's (EOPYY) insurance system. This finding is more likely to renew talks of further austerity measures in the country.
Another round of austerity could jeopardize the recession-hit economy. Though Prime Minister Antonis Samaras had ruled out new spending cuts, the newly-found funding hole, worth more than EUR 1 billion, could prompt the troika to demand more austerity in return for the next loan tranche.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com