Labour Minister: ‘The negotiation is very hard’
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
“It is a very hard negotiation that will continue tomorrow” stated Labour Minister George Katrougalos after his meeting with the heads of the institutions at a downtown Athens hotel.
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Economy Minister George Stathakis were also present at the meeting.
Katrougalos noted that “the meeting was held in a climate of constructive discussion” adding that “the issues are the already known issues that are always set by the institutions. I believe that this hard negotiation will continue and that the final outcome will be in the country’s interest”.
Another meeting between Economy Minister George Stathakis and the heads of the institutions has been scheduled for 7:00 pm to discuss the issue of non-performing loans. The government and the institutions seem to have achieved consensus to extend the current regime prohibiting the sale of these loans until a final agreement is eventually reached.
The issues to be discussed in this week’s negotiations were determined in a meeting between Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and the institutions on Monday.
“There was good mood in the talks on the side of our lenders,” according to sources.
The heads of the institutions will leave Athens at the end of the week after they have concluded the first phase of the program review. There will be a 7-10 days break until they return for another two weeks. The aim is for the program review to have been completed by the end of February, a government source said.