Greece’s Talks With Creditors To Begin Monday

The talks between Athens and the heads of international lending institutions are expected to start on Monday, a source in the Greek Finance Ministry announced on Saturday.

Earlier this week, the media reported that the lenders are returning to Greece to start the evaluation of the bailout implementation program next week. The quartet of creditors consists of the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the European Stability Mechanism and the International Monetary Fund.

According to the source, “The first round will last for several days. A break will be made at the end of the next week, then the lenders will return to conclude the negotiations.”

Progress Made?

At the review on Monday, Greece’s chief money lenders will discuss what progress the country has made in implementing the economic reforms agreed upon under its third bailout, a necessary step towards debt relief talks.

The Greek economy has been severely strained for several years due to the country’s multi-billion dollar debt which began accumulating after the 2008 world economic crisis.

Athens’ international creditors signed an agreement with Greece in mid-2015, approving a third bailout package worth about $94 billion in exchange for highly unpopular austerity reforms.

Earlier on Saturday, Deputy Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism Alexis Haritsis told reporters that Greece would not face any problems if it did not receive new tranches in the coming months.

The prime goal for Greece at the moment is to restore its industry and private sector economy, which would provide Athens with funds to protect the weakest sections of the population.