Greece agrees new spending cuts to meet bailout terms
GREECE yesterday agreed €11.5bn (£9bn) of additional spending cuts to meet the terms of its bailout.
The junior partners in the coalition government of Prime Minister Antonis Samaras set aside demands for an immediate renegotiation of the terms of the deal to ease talks with the troika of IMF and EU lenders.
With €3.2bn worth of bond payments due in August, the clock is ticking for Greece to please visiting troika inspectors who will rule on whether Athens gets more cash from its €130bn bailout.
“The prime minister’s proposal was accepted by political leaders,” finance minister Yannis Stournaras told reporters after a nearly three-hour meeting.
Samaras and Stournaras have made clear they do not want to raise the issue of renegotiating the bailout deal with lenders before Greece regains credibility after two years of missed targets and empty promises.
The additional salary, pension and benefit cuts are certain to further upset the Greek public who have put up with years of austerity.