Media reports quoting sources close to the Prime Minister as pointing out that Greece’s loan agreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund bind the next government to certain immediate obligations. According to Kathimerini, these include the overhaul of the tax system, the reform of the public procurement process and sweeping changes to the justice system. In total, there are some 70 requirements that have to be completed before the end of June, including the sale of Public Power Corporation lignite units.

Apart from that, any government is formed after the May 6 elections will have to agree with the EU and the IMF another 11.5 billion euros of savings for 2013 and 2014.The fact that reminders about these imminent commitments apparently came from the prime minister’s office was seen by some as an attempt by Papademos to intervene in the election campaign just days before the polls. Government sources however deny that any of the premier’s aides had made such comments.

They added that given the tense atmosphere ahead of Sunday’s vote, Papademos will simply repeat today the message he delivered last week, which is that Greece has to strive to remain in the Eurozone and the European Union. The Cabinet is also expected to approve the release to Greek banks of 18 billion euros’ worth of European Financial Stability Fund bonds that are currently held by the Hellenic Financial Stability Facility, according to Naftemporiki.gr.

According to protothema.gr, Papademos’ list of measures and structural changes includes: the privatisation of water and gas utilities, lignite energy units, highways and ports, layoffs of civil servants, sales of public enterprises, further reduction of salaries and pensions, further cuts in health benefits, elimination of tax exemptions, increase in objective real estate values and electricity bills.

The list also includes pending issues that ministers will deliver to their successors a few days after the elections.

“Let us stay focused on the targets,” he said. “We will soon have stability, improvement and recovery in the Greek economy. This will come in the second half of 2013.”

According to protothema.gr, Prime Minister has prepared assessment grades for ministers and ministries. In cooperation with the economic team, Papademos oversaw the progress of government work over the period of his administration and made a table, which shows serious conclusions about the effectiveness of certain ministers. The evaluation was based on the efficiency of ministers in relation to the set objectives.

According to the newspaper sources, there is a minister with only a 30% fulfillment of the program’s objectives. The highest rating reaches 80%. The evaluation table has three lines: green: the objectives that have been achieved; yellow: the objectives close to completion; red: the objectives facing substantial problems in terms of their completion. Papademos instructed that all outstanding obligations are to be met within the week.

In discussions with Mr. Dimas the issue of Skopje fell on the table, where Mr. Rasmussen reiterated his firm position that the Alliance before joining the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) in NATO should resolve the name issue. They also discussed the Greek contribution in Afghanistan, where Greece reiterated that although it will reduce its assistance to ISAF it will keep its trainers for the Afghan army according to tovima. The Minister of National Defence did not omit to discuss the Greek positions on the new NATO military structure, and to discuss with him the assistance of Greece in peacekeeping operations.

The NATO Secretary General, who also met with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Defense Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos, praised Greece’s participation in NATO operations, with special emphasis on Libya. For NATO, the way forward is Smart Defence Mr. Rasmussen emphasized; a key topic for study in view of the NATO Summit in Chicago in May. “I would expect the NATO Summit in Chicago to make important decisions on enhancement of our partnerships with countries in North Africa and the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring.” That would be in the interest of Greece, but it would also be in the interest of the whole of Europe and the Euro-Atlantic area, he added.

The Secretary General also addressed a conference organized by the Greek think-tank Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP).In his speech, he referred to the difficult economic situation and the challenges to be faced by Greece,  while praising the historical contribution of Greece to NATO missions, and expressed confidence that Greece will continue to be active and present in them.