Athens, July 9 (IANS) Greece’s junior coalition partner said on Thursday an agreement with creditors on the resolution of the country’s debt crisis is close, as the government, according to sources, was putting the last touches on the proposed reforms list it will table to lenders.
“We are close to a deal. Everything will go smoothly and we will have a result quickly… I believe we could finish this even today,” Panos Kammenos, defence minister and leader of the right-wing Independent Greeks party, told local radio Real FM.
The reforms-for-cash draft deal Greece will submit to its international creditors to avert imminent default, and the start of the countdown to Grexit after the upcoming Sunday EU summit, was discussed during a cabinet meeting on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Greek media reports citing government sources reported that the third bailout Greece formally requested on Wednesday from the European Stability Mechanism would reach at least 70 billion euros (around $77 billion) over a three-year period and would include funds to recapitalise the ailing local banking sector once again since 2010.
In particular, the reforms proposed list includes measures worth about 12 billion euros focusing on the taxation and pension systems, according to “Naftemporiki” (Shipping Industry News).
According to still unconfirmed information, the Leftist government agreed to introduce policies to discourage early retirement, as creditors had requested, and regarding taxation to increase VAT rates.
Deliberations are taking place as the country is in arrears status to International Monetary Fund since June 30 and without the safety net of the second bailout that expired on the same day.
Since June 29, a bank holiday and capital control have been introduced until next Monday, July 13.
Greek opposition parties, businessmen and ordinary people are urging the government to strike a deal within the next few hours and stave off the risk of Grexit, since European counterparts openly warned on Tuesday that the black scenario would be put on the table on Sunday in case of failure.
On the other hand, a part of Greek society and lawmakers are opting for return to the drachma rather than a “humiliating” and unsustainable agreement.
According to political analysts in Athens, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras faces the prospect of a “rebellion” within his Radical Left Syriza party’s parliamentary group, should the terms of the deal be considered extremely painful by some lawmakers.
Productive Reconstruction and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis said on Thursday that the goal was “a deal respecting people’s dignity” and not a third bailout of “harsh austerity, suffering and deprivation”.