BERLIN – German Economic Minister Philipp Rösler warned Friday that the Troika is exhausting his patience concerning the Government of Greece and the implementation of reforms to stabilize the country’s finances.
The Troika is the supervisory committee composed of representatives of the European Commission (EC), European Central Bank (ECB), and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The panel is responsible for the bailout of Greece.
After the election where a national unity government conservative majority was crowned, the situation in Greece with respect to its European commitments remains unclear.
“My patience with the Troika and Greece is running out,” said Roesler this morning to a question about the requirements of the Hellenic authorities to extend the deadlines for their savings program.
Among the conditions laid down for aid packages are revenue-saving measures totaling 12 million dollars (14.690 million Euros) between 2013 and 2014. But the question now is whether Greece is able to implement the reforms.
“For the experiences, we leave room for skepticism,” said Roesler, who openly doubted that the Greek government intends to implement the reforms.
These concerns can be confirmed by the current drafts of the Troika report leaked by several German media outlets. According to the newspaper Rheinische Post after citing confidential sources, the reports would undoubtedly draw a negative picture of the situation.
Then, there are statements by Antonis Manitakis, Minister of Public Administration, who said he will not lay off more public employees even though the government had pledged to fire about 50,000 over the next three years.
The Troika expressed its rejection of an amendment to the savings goals. IMF spokesman Gerry Rice insisted that the basis of the discussions is the objectives of the bailout that has already been agreed upon with the government of Athens.
This morning, the German media quoted members of the CDU who said that the head of government would accept late implementation of the reforms for up to two weeks.
