Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is expected to outline the proposal during talks next week with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin and French President François Hollande in Paris, after a meeting with Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker in Athens next week (Aug 22).

As the paper writes, the Greek government will ask France and Germany to allow Greece to spread the package of EUR 11.5 billion in 4 years, starting in 2013, that is to reduce government spending by about EUR 3 billion a year until the end of 2016.

Ioannis Mourmouras, senior economic adviser to the prime minister said that the greater than expected recession for this year, with Greece’s GDP expected to fall by 7%, is justifying the request for extension. “The deficit reduction requested for the 2013-2014 period is excessive. An over-dose of austerity measures would be suicidal,” he stressed.

Referring to PM Antonis Samaras’ visit to Berlin, German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said “the chancellor will certainly first listen to what Mr. Samaras has to say about the situation in Greece and the implementation of the [reform] programme.” He added: “the findings of the trio of creditors providing financial aid to Greece will remain the basis for further decisions… The troika report is for everyone, not just the federal government, but for all countries, to decide

According to protothema.gr, quoting a source with the PM’s office, there will be no meeting of the three coalition leaders before Antonis Samaras’ meeting with Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker in Athens, and the tour in Berlin and Paris right after. Until Juncker’s arrival in Greece, the package of measures for EUR 11.5 billion will be completed. Media reports suggest that coalition leaders Evangelos Venizelos and Fotis Kouvelis, although continuing to support the government, they need to demonstrate that they do not identify with the Prime Minister, as they are under pressure from their own parties and also would like to maintain room for communication maneuvers in view of the politically difficult September. Labour reserve in the public sector, cuts in wages and pensions and the privatization of public enterprises remain issues of disagreement in the coalition government.

As protothema.gr writes, Samaras is preparing to present Juncker the package of measures and the plan for privatizations and a smaller public sector. Maximos Mansion believes that a good meeting with Juncker will prepare the ground for the meetings with Merkel and Hollande. The PM’s discussions will affect the Troika report, as they will return in late August, and will also shape the climate for the September Eurogroup to discuss the tranche of EUR 31.5 billion. By then Samaras will have met with the director of ECB and the head of IMF.

The government’s target is clear: “The country should stand upright within the euro as well, until the implementation of critical decisions about managing the debt crisis in the Eurozone. Samaras will take all necessary steps in consultation with the partners in order to restore confidence in the country, whatever the political cost at home.” In his meetings, Samaras will describe the difficult situation within the country and request the extension of the fiscal adjustment programme.

The meeting came After , the coalition government agreed to 11.5bn euro spending cuts for 2014 during a meeting on Wednesday night.

After the meeting, troika representatives departed apparently satisfied, protothema.gr writes. “Excellent meeting”, commented Poul Thomsen.

“We expect the package to be complete by the end of August”, FinMin said and stressed that a basic goal is “to minimize social impact”. “We must present a reliable package”, he added.

In the negotiations with the Troika which began today, the measures to be tabled according to media reports include:

- Reduction of lump sum in the public sector by 22.6%.

- Removal of the 13th and 14th supplementary pension. In the future, supplementary pensions will not exceed 20% of the main pension. Alternatively, it has been suggested that supplementary pensions should not exceed a limit of monthly earnings of close to EUR 300.

- Imposition of the ceiling on main and supplementary pensions from EUR 2,000 to EUR 2,300. The cap applies to cases where the pensioner receives two main pensions. The possibility is also open of imposing a cap in cases where a pension is granted when the spouse has died.

- Horizontal cuts of more than 10% in pensions exceeding EUR 1,400 euros. The cuts will be in placee from the first euro received and not for the excess amount.

- Imposition of asset and income criteria for social and welfare benefits. Cuts will range between 15% and 20%. – Implementation in public enterprises of the single salary scale applicable to the state.

Difficulties are expected with measures such as the increase of the retirement age from 65 to 67 years and the cuts of EUR 30 in the OGA (farmers’ pension fund) minimum pension.

On August 24 and 25, the PM is set to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin and French President Francois Hollande. Government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou repeated yesterday that the priority is still Greece’s continued presence in the eurozone, according to Kathimerini.

“The goal is for the country to stay in the euro,” he said. “No other alternative, enforceable proposal has been made.”

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has called the meeting to fine tune issues and debate the proposal coalition parties push forward for the extension of the bailout agreement and a two-phase implementation of the austerity package; EUR 6.7 billion worth of cuts pushed through in 2013 and 2014, with the remaining cuts saved for the following two years.

Saving harsh, horizontal measures for later is what Evangelos Venizelos and Fotis Kouvelis would like the government to do, to save face in front of their partisan colleagues. “Agreement on the strategic plan” has been the only quote coming from the coalition leaders meeting that could suggest a viable planning for the future. What they also agree on is that the country requires additional time to meet its debt targets.

Sources told Kathimerini that Samaras assured troika inspectors that the cuts would be agreed this week and set out in detail by next week. The Premier sees this as a vital part in securing a review from the troika that will be favorable enough to ensure the release of further loans from the Eurozone and the IMF.

Venizelos and Kouvelis, however, have growing reservations about agreeing to cuts to salaries and pensions. They argue that this would exacerbate Greece’s recession and threaten the government’s viability, as there would be a backlash against the measures.

Yesterday morning,  Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met with the troika representatives for clarifications on certain economic matters, ANA reports. The urgent meeting was also attended by Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras and Labour Minister Yiannis Vroutsis.

The meeting with the troika follows Monday’s meeting of the government party leaders, which ended without firm final agreement on the measures that will be adopted to reduce the country’s deficit by EUR 11.5 billion. According to government spokesman Simos Kedikoglou, the measures will be announced in August. No statements followed after the meeting.