Review to start in late October

Early December is the original completion target date, but several milestones have already been delayed

Monday, September 11 is the date when the technical experts of the country’s creditors will arrive to start the preparatory work ahead of the third review of the current bailout program.

The date of the experts’ return to Athens has been set following contacts between the two sides, as the summer break is over and the sched- uling of actions for the fall is under way regarding the upcoming review.

The first senior-level meeting regarding the Greek program will be the Euro Working Group this coming Monday, September 4. Participating Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Houliarakis is expected to provide an account of the the progress made in the implementation of prior actions, and the meeting is likely to agree the next steps ahead of the return to Greece of the creditors’ main representatives for the third review to start.

Sources say it is possible there will be a visit by the heads of the creditors’ representation in mid-September to determine the priorities of the review. Also, on September 15, the Eurogroup of finance ministers is scheduled to convene in Tallinn, Estonia.

Kathimerini understands that the third review will start around midto end-October, following the formation of a new government in Ger- many after the September 24 election and the Annual Meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington on October 13-15.

According to sources, the government’s objective is for the new review to be successfully completed by the December 4 Eurogroup. This would require the implementation of 95 of the 113 prior actions that must be completed by end-December. A number of milestones that should have been completed to date 1.1916 have already been delayed.

Obstacles to the review could be raised in other ways, mainly by way of the IMF: The Fund might expand the review’s agenda by adding a few difficult matters such as the fiscal issue – bringing back to the table the view that the measures will not suffice to meet the primary surplus target of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product – and the requirement for banks to undergo asset quality reviews.