Greece, creditors agree on key elements of reform package

Greece and its euro zone creditors on Friday reached an agreement on key elements of a reform package, said Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem in a meeting held in Malta.

The key elements would enable the release of new loans to the debt-ladden country, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We had intensified talks to, first of all, reach an agreement between the institutions and the Greek government on the key elements, the overarching elements, of the policy package," the Eurogroup president was quoted as saying.

The reform package includes measures involving two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), with one per cent in 2019 mainly based on pensions and the other one per cent in 2020 mainly based on personal income tax.

The Greek authorities have been invited to reach a full Staff Level Agreement as soon as possible.

Once the full Staff Level Agreement is achieved, the Eurogroup will come back to the issue of the medium-term fiscal path for the post-program period and debt sustainability, in order to reach that overall political agreement.

"The big blocks have now been sorted out and that should allow us to speed up and go for the final stretch," said Dijsselbloem.

--IANS

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