Government sources said that “there is still no such request from the Greek side, nor a discussion with troika” but we are considering examining the issue in the near future, provided that “the Greek side will be completely ready” to meet the prerequisites to be met until then.

Such a development could possibly mean that troika might not be required to come back to Athens in June if the government proceeds timely with some issues provided by the memorandum, like the numbering of all transactions with the State with a single number (which will integrate Tax Identification Number, ID and other identification numbers), changes in tax laws (simplification), etc.

Meanwhile, Adminstrative Reform Minister Antonis Manitakis and his associates are currently working on the final details nfor the preparation of the bill regarding changes in the public sector, tovima.gr writes.

According to the plan, the ministries will have about 50% less placements and reduced staff. The new bill will focus on effectiveness, efficiency, fiscal benefits and reducing operating cost criteria, while emphasizing is job placement organization and recruitment. The main focus is on merit and the qualitative improvement of staff and services provided.

One of the main aspects of the new bill is the issuing of presidential decrees. The government plans to restructure each ministry, so that they are more functional and effective. The detailed description of each position, along with the responsibilities and duties of each directorate, department and position are critical.

The goals of each department and ministry will become the goals of each employee, so staff will be evaluated on the degree to which they completed their tasks. These evaluations will determine whether an employee will face a dismissal or a transfer to another department.

Essentially, the new bill contains the tools by which a number of other reforms are to take place, such as the 15,000 dismissals by the end of 2014. The bill also ensures that for each compulsory dismissal there will be one recruitment. About 10,000 successful applicants who participated in ASEP competitions will cover these recruitments.

Meanwhile, the “surplus” employees from positions and departments that are to merge or be abolished will be inducted in a mobility scheme for transfer to other positions, based on staff evaluation and needs. The employees from public law entities will be given incentives to retire, while employees from private law entities will likely face outright dismissal. Along with employees facing misconduct charges, private law employees in the civil sector are the first to face dismissal.

According to the minister, the changes approved would allow Greece to meet targets calling for a 40-50% reduction in administrative structures, effecting savings that exceeded 15%, AMNA reports.

This marked the start of the crucial second phase, in which the studies had to be carried out and new institutions designed, Manitakis added. Government wants to push dismissals forward through an evaluation procedure, by reducing the services at ministries and their supervised agencies. The government partners will discuss in great detail the wording in the bill, to ensure the greatest convergence of opinion before it is tabled in Parliament, tovima.gr writes.

Yesterday’s meeting at the Maximos Mansion also discussed coordinating efforts for the ‘mobility’ of 12,500 civil servants by June and another 12,500 by December. By the end of December 2013, the government must also remove 4,000 public-sector employees, many of which will have to go by June. Manitakis stressed that each departure will be matched by the hiring of a new employee via the ASEP civil servants’ recruitment council.

Administrative Reform Ministry supports a qualitative “upgrade” of staff and evaluation of human resources, in an effort to make services more efficient. A variety of employees will face dismissal, across all government services and agencies, with the government providing some incentives for voluntary redundancy.

FinMin Yannis Stournaras wants all measures to be voted until Sunday so that he finds the chance on Monday, at the Euroworking Group meeting, to ask for at least the EUR 2.8 billion already approved by the Eurogroup, protothema.gr writes.

The Finance ministry is apparently backing off on the operation of shops on Sundays since, after the reaction of the parties, the issue will probably not get included in the omnibus bill.

The bill will include provisions for the extension this year of the collection of the tax hike through electricity bills, but under another name (single property tax) and the introduction of a 15% discount as compared to 2012. The implementation of a single property tax is postponed until 2014, whilst officials spoke of a tax-free limit of at least EUR 50,000 and above that a 0.1% tax in the additional property value of each taxpayer.

This idea is now probably abandoned, as the memorandum goal is to collect EUR 3.2 billion in 2014 from a single real estate tax. FinMin officials already expect significant losses and the budgeted revenue is “clipped” even now to about EUR 2.7-2.9 billion euros.

A recent piece of legislation that envisaged new Ministers’ Deputies posts in six ministers has triggered new discussions on the matter. The government has announced that the new positions will be in the Ministries of Administrative Reform, Justice, Public Order, Tourism, Shipping, Macedonia-Thrace and Education-Culture. Officially it is argued that posts were created to match new organisational charts of ministries.

At the same time, opinion polls continue to suggest a relative tie between ND and SYRIZA.

According to media writings, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras understands that time is running out and he is now faced with dilemmas that should give urgent answers.

It is clear that the PM was not entirely pleased by all of his Ministries, so this way he can provide a solution, as well as appease PASOK’s request for greater participation in the government, tovima.gr writes.

By creating these new positions the Prime Minister will be able to introduce a number of his trusted partners, without having to replace any of the current ministers. That way he can reinvigorate the government and take advantage of the fresh perspective of new members, without any delays.

This is especially important for Ministries on tight timetables, such as the Ministry of Labor. The Minister can now focus on the public sector dismissals program, while his soon-to-be-appointed deputy will assist in other matters.

Based on the introduction of the new spots, many estimate that a wider cabinet reshuffle might happen after Easter. After all, both the Prime Minister and his government partners Evangelos Venizelos and Fotis Kouvelis have agreed that changes are necessary.

“While the process of reform is continuing in the right direction, there are significant human rights shortcomings that remain unaddressed, such as discrimination against the Rohingya in Rakhine state and the ongoing human rights violations in relation to the conflict in Kachin state,” said the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana.

“Now is the time to address these shortcomings before they become further entrenched and destabilise the reform process.”

Several waves of clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims have left 115,000 people displaced in Rakhine state, while some 75,000 people have fled their homes in Kachin since fighting began in June 2011 between Government troops and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). The fighting intensified in September and December last year, before authorities in Myanmar announced a unilateral ceasefire in January.

“The Government must establish the truth about what happened in Rakhine state during the two waves of communal violence last June and October, and hold those responsible for human rights violations to account,” Mr. Ojea Quintana said, offering his support to pursue further investigations.

Mr. Ojea Quintana also urged the Government to ease the harsh restriction on freedom of movement for the 120,000 people who remain in camps for the internally displaced in Rakhine and to begin their relocation into integrated communities before the start of the rainy season, which will flood many camps.

In Kachin, he welcomed the recent de-escalation of violence while highlighting the needs of those who have been displaced by the fighting.

“I’m particularly concerned about the situation of the 40,000 displaced in non-Government controlled areas of Kachin state, and urged the Government to provide humanitarian organizations with regular access to these areas,” he said.

In addition, the Special Rapporteur expressed concern over the rights of journalists in the country due to a draft law that threatens to undo recent progress. “This would be giving with one hand while taking away with the other.” He also noted that while people now can associate freely, protestors continue to be imprisoned and police officers are still using excessive force when managing demonstrators.

Mr. Ojea Quintana acknowledged progress in other areas, such as the release of over 800 prisoners of conscience since May 2011, but called for the immediate release of the over 250 who remain behind bars.

“I welcome the committee set up by the Government to identify remaining prisoners of conscience, and recommend that it be established as a permanent body to guard against future detentions for political reasons and to help ensure that the rights and freedoms of all those released are fully respected,” he said.

Special rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

“The reforms in Myanmar are continuing apace, which is a good sign for the improvement of the human rights situation in Myanmar,” said the Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in the country, Tomás Ojea Quintana, after his latest visit. However, he warned that “there are significant human rights shortcomings that remain unaddressed.”

Mr. Ojea Quintana called on authorities to address the issues of truth, justice and accountability through the creation of a truth commission, adding that this is crucial for the process of national reconciliation and to prevent future human rights violations.

He also underlined the importance of focusing on implementing the recent reforms, in particular in the areas of training for police, the army, judges and lawyers. “As time passes it becomes more urgent to address these shortcomings before they become entrenched,” he said.

During his five-day trip, Mr. Ojea Quintana visited Naypyitaw, Yangon, Kachin and Rakhine, and met with Government officials, the National Human Rights Commission, civil society and former prisoners of conscience, among others. He also met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Chairperson of the National League of Democracy.

The Special Rapporteur said he was particularly concerned by the escalation of military offensives in Kachin, where some 75,000 people have fled their homes since fighting began in June 2011 between Government troops and rebels.

“The ongoing large military presence, which remains beyond the reach of accountability mechanisms, means that serious human rights violations are continuing there,” he said, adding that the resolution of the conflict will need to address the role played by ethnic minorities in the reconstruction of the nation.

Security issues in the state are also hindering humanitarian access, and Mr. Ojea Quintana stressed that all administrative and political obstacles should be removed to improve access.

Regarding Rakhine state, where several waves of clashes between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims have left 115,000 people displaced, Mr. Ojea Quintana warned the violence threatens to spread to other parts of the country and could potentially undermined the reform process in the country.

“Both Muslim and Buddhist Rakhine communities continue to suffer the consequences of violence that the Government has finally been able to control, though question marks remain over the extent to which excessive force has been used,” he said.

The living conditions of some 120,000 people who are living in internally displaced camps are especially worrying, the expert said, without adequate health care in the larger Muslim camps.

“This is not just a matter of lack of resources, but requires the safe passage of humanitarian assistance to these camps. Currently, local and international medical staff are unable to provide medical care to some of the Muslim camps due to the threats and harassment they face from local Rakhine Buddhist communities,” he said. “I urge the local authorities to send a clear message through their networks that this harassment of staff is not acceptable.”

Mr. Ojea Quintana said it is also important to address the distrust between the two communities through dialogue and community initiatives to begin the process of repairing relations. “The facts of what has happened need to be established and those responsible for human rights violations held to account, which I hope the Investigation Committee established by the President will help to do in its upcoming report which should be made public.”

Special rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work. Mr. Ojea Quintana is scheduled to present a full report on his visit in March.

The 28-page report, “Race Against Time: The Need for Legal and Institutional Reforms Ahead of Zimbabwe’s Elections,” assesses the legislative and electoral reforms undertaken by the unity government, which was established in 2009 after the 2008 elections resulted in violence. The unity government consists of the former ruling Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) and the two factions of the former opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC). The deeply fractured unity government has failed to reform key laws or the justice system, which remains extremely partisan toward ZANU-PF, Human Rights Watch said. It has also failed to hold accountable those responsible for past human rights abuses, including during the 2008 electoral violence.

“To hold credible, free, and fair elections in 2013, Zimbabwe’s government needs to level the political playing field and create a rights-respecting environment now,” said Daniel Bekele, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “This means amending repressive laws and replacing partisan police chiefs and election officials with impartial professionals.”

Many Zimbabweans are concerned that without the needed reforms elections expected in 2013 will result in widespread violence and human rights violations, as occurred in 2008, Human Rights Watch said.

The unity government has failed to make any changes to repressive laws such as the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, the Public Order and Security Act, and the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act. These laws have been used to severely curtail basic rights through vague defamation clauses and draconian penalties. ZANU-PF has not agreed to genuine and comprehensive institutional reforms to end the politically partisan leadership of key state institutions such as the security forces, election bodies, and government broadcasters.

The newly created Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission could help improve the human rights environment, but its mandate is limited to investigating and reporting on human rights abuses committed after the unity government was formed in February 2009, excluding the widespread electoral violence of 2008.

The reconstituted Zimbabwe Electoral Commission has new commissioners, but the secretariat staff is largely the same pro-ZANU-PF team that worked for previous commissions. ZANU-PF resists calls by civil society and the MDC factions for an independent audit of electoral commission staff followed by the recruitment of professional and non-partisan personnel.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC), an inter-governmental body of 15 southern African countries, should independently assess and certify that conditions in Zimbabwe meet criteria in the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections before it clears Zimbabwe to hold elections, Human Rights Watch said. SADC should also deploy SADC and African Union election observers to Zimbabwe early and in sufficient numbers, and maintain them on the ground well after elections to deter violence and intimidation.

The European Union and the United States should also maintain restrictive measures on President Robert Mugabe and his inner circle, including travel bans and assets freezes, pending tangible human rights reforms, Human Rights Watch said.

“SADC should not only call upon Zimbabwe’s political leaders to carry out critical reforms, but clarify the consequences if they don’t,” Bekele said. “SADC and donor governments should not shy away from using sanctions on individuals and other measures to improve respect for human rights in Zimbabwe.”

Parliamentary elections will be held by early next year and be overseen by an independent commission, government spokesman Samih al-Maitah said. The Parliament was elected almost two years ago.

Under the constitution, the Cabinet must resign within a week of the parliament’s dissolution.

The “Friday to Rescue the Nation” demonstration which the Brotherhood’s Islamic Action Front political arm said would have more than 50,000 people calling for political and economic reforms. The Brotherhood and a coalition of tribal and other groups have been pressing the monarch to speed up what they consider to be the slow pace of political reform.

Organizers of the pro-monarchy Youth Coalition of Loyalty and Allegiance canceled their planned demonstration in support of the king, saying they wanted to avoid tensions.

Numerous demonstrations have taken place in Jordan since January 2011 to call for political and economic reforms and demand an end to corruption.

89 members of Jordan’s 120-seat Parliament signed a petition for the dismissal of Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh Sept. 2 over increasing fuel prices and “because of recent appointments in top posts based on nepotism,” the official Petra news agency reported.

The Brotherhood says it would boycott the polls as it did in 2010 to protest against the lack of solid reforms, while calling for a parliamentary system where the prime minister is elected, rather than named by the king.

In an exclusive interview with AFP news agency last month, the king said a decision by the Islamists to boycott the vote was “a tremendous miscalculation.”

“With a constitution to write and a new social compact to reach, Tunisia is at a critical historical juncture,” said Simon Gray, World Bank Country Director for the Maghreb. “Our goal is to help Tunisia create the right environment for this process, by addressing an immediate need to get the economy going again so that it can create jobs for Tunisian citizens, no matter what part of the country they live in.”

The Interim Strategy Note (ISN) was prepared jointly with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and with the participation of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. It was informed by extensive consultation with interim authorities, civil society organizations, youth and women’s groups, and the private sector.

The ISN will guide World Bank Group engagement during the period in which the constituent assembly draws up a constitution and organizes elections. A full Country Partnership Strategy will be developed after the elections, to ensure that the programs it underpins are fully aligned with the priorities of the new government. As a temporary instrument, the ISN provides the flexibility that will allow the Bank to adjust its strategy to meet new requests and changing circumstances in a rapidly evolving environment.

“We welcome the excellent partnership that we forged with government, civil society, private sector and other stakeholders in the design of this innovative strategy to help Tunisia lay the necessary foundations for job creation and private sector led growth,” said Eileen Murray, the World Bank’s Resident Representative for Tunisia. “Tunisia is poised to meet the challenges that it faces and the World Bank will do its best to support the country as it charts a new path.”

The ISN will focus on three main areas of support. The first aimed at laying the foundation for renewed sustainable growth and job creation. Related programs will be geared toward restoring investor confidence in the short term and boosting private sector activity over the longer term. The second is the promotion of social and economic inclusion by improving access to basic services for underserved communities and improving the efficiency of social safety net programs. The third will focus on strengthening governance through improved access to public information as the basis for increased social accountability and transparency.

A priority that will cut across all three areas, and which will be integrated into all Bank programs, is to maintain and advance the role of Tunisian women throughout the political transition. Continued outreach remains a priority too. The extensive consultation done in the preparation of the ISN and the diverse range of relationships established will be built upon in the months ahead in engagement with new stakeholders.

“IFC has increased its engagement, played a catalytic role in supporting Tunisia’s private sector since January 2011 and has established a presence for the first time in Tunis. We expect to maintain this positive trend during the ISN period,” said Mouayed Makhlouf the IFC Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa.

The newly announced ISN replaces the 2010-2013 Country Partnership Strategy, which needed to be reframed to meet the needs of post-revolutionary Tunisia.

“Structural factors have changed the context within which the European social model operates: the growing competition from emerging countries, the reorganisation of production processes on a global basis, the speed of innovation, the increasing fragmentation of career paths with ever looser ties to a “permanent position”, the greater instability of families, declining fertility, the prospective decrease in the workforce, an ageing population. The set of risks faced by individuals throughout their life has changed significantly.

The social protection systems are therefore constantly evolving; substantial corrections have taken place in recent years in many countries, including France, the United Kingdom and Germany, the country where the reform process began a decade ago. In Italy, the recent pension reform which approves the full transition to a contribution system completes the necessary correction of the pension spending dynamics which was started years ago. As Germany shows very well, large and effective welfare systems can be made more efficient without compromising social goals.

We are living at a critical juncture in the history of the Union. The sovereign debt crisis has exposed serious weaknesses in the institutional framework; in this context, the difficulties in finding common solutions are having a negative impact on market valuations. The extraordinary measures taken by the ECB have gained us time; they have preserved the functioning of monetary policy.

But we have now reached a point where European integration, in order to survive, needs a bold leap of political imagination. It is in this sense that I have referred to the need for a “growth compact” alongside the well-known “fiscal compact”.

A growth compact rests on three pillars and the most important one, from a structural viewpoint, is political: the economic and financial crisis has challenged the myopic belief that monetary union could remain just that, and not evolve into something closer, more binding, into an arrangement whereby national sovereignty on economic policy is replaced by the Community ruling. If the governments of the Member States of the euro define jointly and irrevocably their vision of what the political and economic construct that supports the single currency will be and what the conditions to reach that goal together should be. This is the most effective answer to the question everyone is asking: “Where will the euro be in ten years’ time?”.

The second pillar is that of structural reforms, especially, but not only, in the product and labour markets. The completion of the single market and the strengthening of competition are crucial for growth and employment. Labour market reforms that combine flexibility and mobility with a sense of fairness and social inclusion are essential.

Growth and fairness are closely connected: without growth, and the events of recent months also reflect this, the temptation to “circle our wagons” gains strength, and solidarity weakens. Without fairness, the economy breaks up into multiple interest groups, no common good emerges as a result of social and economic interaction, and there are negative effects on the capacity to grow.

These reforms have long been indispensable in a global economy very different to the one which witnessed the creation of the institutions still operating today. In the political structure that will emerge from the crisis it is likely and desirable that for these reforms a system of European rules will be introduced similar to that for the fiscal compact, a discipline leading over time to the European harmonisation of objectives and tools.

The third pillar is the revival of public investment: the use of public resources to push forward investment in infrastructure and human capital, research and innovation at national and European levels. (The proposed strengthening of the EIB and the reprogramming of Union structural funds in favour of less-developed areas go in this direction).

Thus, a growth compact complements the fiscal compact, because there can be no sustainable growth without orderly public finances. In this regard I have noted on other occasions the extraordinary progress made by all governments of the euro area in terms of fiscal consolidation, but, once the emergency is overcome, they need to make improvements by cutting current spending and taxation.”

The Greek economy contracted sharply in 2011 due to strong fiscal retrenchment, severe economic dislocation and weak exports. Unemployment has risen rapidly, especially among the young. Output is set to decline further until the second half of 2013 when the pace of fiscal consolidation is expected to ease somewhat, wide-ranging structural reforms to boost competitiveness and promote investment start to bear fruit, and international demand strengthens. These projections assume that the EU/IMF programme of fiscal consolidation and structural reform is fully implemented.

The economic adjustment programme approved in March 2012 gives Greece time to proceed with the fundamental reforms it needs. It should be implemented rigorously to restore growth and stabilise the public finances.

According to OECD Outlook, the global economy is, once again, trying to return to growth, helped by a modest pick-up of trade and an improvement in confidence. It is doing so, however, at different speeds, with the United States and Japan growing at a stronger pace than the euro area and large emerging economies enjoying a moderate cyclical upswing. Different dynamics are also developing in labour markets in the United States, where unemployment is slowly decreasing, and in the euro area, where instead it keeps rising.

OECD noted: “Almost five years ago, in the summer of 2007, turbulence in the US subprime market sparked off the most dramatic financial and economic crisis in several decades. After five years we cannot yet say that the crisis is behind us. More than once signs of recovery have disappointed. Policy mistakes have been made, sometimes reflecting inaccurate reading of events, at other times reflecting policy and political failures. Is it different this time? As long as confidence is not rebuilt on a solid basis with the right policy choices, downside risks will prevail. This is important everywhere but particularly so in the euro area, where crisis management goes hand in hand with the building of the institutions needed for a monetary union to work properly.”