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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-01-23
CONTENTS
[01] ND: Tsakalotos letter to institutions a 'humiliating apology'
[01] ND: Tsakalotos letter to institutions a 'humiliating apology'
Main opposition New Democracy attacked the government on Monday, accusing
it of "hypocrisy," while noting that a letter sent by Finance Minister
Euclid Tsakalotos to the institutions was essentially a "humiliating
letter of apology".
In order to persuade the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to unlock
the short-term debt relief measures for Greece - originally approved
on December 5 and subsequently suspended - Tsakalotos had essentially
promised to never again give pensioners a one-off cash bonus, ND said
in an announcement.
"At the same time, the Tsipras government has booby-trapped the country's
course by agreeing to primary surplus targets of 3.5 pct of GDP that
cannot be achieved for many years. How many more times will they issue
announcements celebrating the constant austerity without any return that
they have imposed on the Greek people," the announcement added.
Sources in Brussels earlier told the ANA that Tsakalotos' letter was a
"good starting point for an agreement between the four institutions." They
noted that the letter was "well written" but that additional negotiations
will be needed for a final agreement to be reached. Commenting on the
results of a meeting between International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing
Director Christine Lagarde and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble
in Davos, the sources said these confirmed the necessity of the IMF's
participation in the Greek programme.
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