The evaluation for exit from the enhanced supervision – The pending issues starts on Monday

By Tasos Dasopoulos

When and how the economy will get rid of the enhanced supervision will depend on the results of the 13th evaluation that starts next Monday the 10th of the month, from a distance due to the outbreak of cases from the “Omicron” mutation.

The first online meetings will be made with the technical ladders of the institutions and will be material and not only for the pending of the previous evaluations. In particular, the measures to support businesses and households against the energy crisis, which are expected to be announced today or tomorrow, will be discussed in detail, as well as the measures planned by Athens to cover any losses arising for specific economic sectors from the recent restrictive measures. .

Also, the closing of 2021 and the expected new upward revision of the growth rate of the economy from the 6.9% that the budget had close to 8% will be discussed. From this discussion, the additional fiscal space will be judged, in order to be allocated to measures to support the economy. In addition, the course of deficits and debt for both 2021 and the prospects for 2022 will be analyzed. In this context, it will be discussed and agreed which support measures of 2021 will not be repeated in 2022, so that its fiscal adjustment can occur. 5.5% of GDP.

The Greek side should also inform about the exercise of the reform of ENFIA, which is being feverishly prepared to be announced in February. Foreign technocrats are expected to request information in addition to the tax reduction and the final revenue result of ENFIA after the changes.

The pending issues

A large part of the meetings, which in addition to the Ministry of Finance will be addressed to the Ministries of Labor, Development, Infrastructure, Energy, Justice, as well as the commercial banks and the Bank of Greece, will also concern the outstanding issues of Greece regarding the commitments made in 2018 after the end of the 3rd memorandum.

Particularly:

– The settlement of red loans. The representatives of the institutions will ask to know the progress of the out-of-court mechanism of debt settlement and provision of second chance, after the first 32 settlement agreements reached at the end of 2021. The details of the bill for the new management body will be analyzed in the same issue. bankruptcy of household real estate. The issue will also be the substantial resumption of auctions, which were frozen due to the pandemic. Information will also be provided on the process of clearing the 35,000 applications of the old Katselis law, which are pending in the courts.

– On the issue of banks, The technical levels will be informed about the HFSF bill and the disinvestment process by commercial banks. They will also look at the banks’ estimates for the loans that are expected to blush after the freezing of loans in 2020 and the moratorium on loans that continued in 2021.

– The settlement of overdue debts of the State. The Greek side will also inform about the law it wants to make to finally resolve the issue with the delays of the claw back by the pharmaceutical companies, but also the operation of the procedures, through which new debts will not accumulate from public organizations.

– The award of arrears of pensions, whose cost exceeds 300 million euros. The situation until the end of 2021 will be examined and the target for the award of all pensions that are delayed until the middle of the year will be reconsidered.

Discussions will include information on the privatization program and the use of public property, as well as health and justice reform issues.

The data gathered will be discussed at the meetings with the leaders of the EU ESM and IMF teams on the 23rd of the month, where the context in which the exit from enhanced supervision will take place will be discussed.