These prior actions included important steps in the areas of fiscal policy, tax reform, revenue administration, public administration reform, privatisation and financial sector restructuring.

Subject to confirmation of compliance with the last outstanding prior action, national procedures may thereafter be finalised and are expected to be completed by 29 July.

Once this process has been satisfactorily concluded, the EFSF will be authorised to release the first sub-tranche of the next installment, amounting to EUR 2.5 billion, according to the programme.”

“We made very good progress,” Poul Thomsen, head of the IMF’s mission to Greece told reporters yesterday, adding that he hoped talks would be concluded early today, before the Eurogroup meeting of finance ministers.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras also said he was optimistic of a deal on Monday morning. The two sides were due to leave Athens yesterday, but could remain in touch to nail down final details, Reuters informs.

Government sources have suggested that the troika is in a position to complete its review of the adjustment programme and allow Eurozone finance ministers to decide later today whether to release another EUR 8.1 billion of bailout funding.

According to Kathimerini, a deal seems to have been clinched after the troika inspectors accepted Administrative Reform Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ plans for completing a labour mobility scheme involving 12,500 civil servants.

However, Mitsotakis had to agree in return that the programme would run for eight months rather than 12. It appears that as a result of agreeing to shorten the duration of the scheme, Mitsotakis will be allowed until the end of September to identify all 12,500 public sector workers who will be transferred to other positions.

“It is sealed, there will not be any more meetings regarding the public sector,” Mitsotakis said on Saturday afternoon. “All that is left is for the Eurogroup to give its approval.”

According to sources, 5,000 of those who will be included in the programme will be local authority employees, including school crossing guards and cleaners. Some 3,500 municipal police officers will also be added. They will undergo an evaluation and for every one that is transferred to the main police force, another three will be dismissed. Another 2,000 employees are to come from the education sector, while ministry personnel will also be added once the restructuring of government departments is completed.

The two sides also appear to have reached an agreement over a supposed funding gap of about EUR 2 billion for this year and next. The Greek government said that it would “claw back” much of the overspending at healthcare provider EOPYY by forcing private clinics that worked with the public organization to accept reduced payments.

There were also reports that the troika agreed to the seasonal reduction of value-added tax in the food service sector from 23 to 13 percent in return for a rise in tax on luxury goods.

The next tranche of international aid for Greece could be split into installments, EU commissioner Olli Rehn said, holding out the prospect of a continued hand-to-mouth existence for Greece that threatens to stifle its economy.

According to media reports, Rehn confirmed what many officials have expressed privately amid growing frustration with Athens’ slow pace of reform, namely, that the tranche could be split into several installments.

The decision likely to be taken at the Eurogroup summit will relate to a EUR 4.3-billion tranche for the first quarter of the year and a EUR 3.3-billion installment slated for the second quarter, though the release of the latter slice will also require a separate positive assessment by the Euro Working Group. The European official emphasized, however, that authorities still have much to do, particularly in the areas of overhauling the public sector and the tax collection system.

Meanwhile, the Center for Planning and Economic Research (KEPE) has indicated that the government’s indecisiveness constitute any half-hearted attempts to deal with the opening of closed professions ineffective, tovima.gr writes.

While some professions have been deregulated to a great extent (chartered surveyors, tax consultants and customs agents), many others remain unchanged or experience further regulation.

KEPE notes that the greatest degree of regulation are the “scientific professions” such as lawyers, mechanics and health practitioners, as well as a few others such as taxi drivers and newspaper retailer.

KEPE suggests in its study that apparent benefits in deregulated professions do not reflect a change in attitude, as much as a

reduction in new professionals.

The report examined the degree of regulation in 90 professions/economic activities affected by the relevant reform laws. As explained in the paper, the degree of regulation is measured both for the regime before and for that after the laws’ implementation and the methodology employed is that of composite regulation indice.

The results of the analysis point to the existence of significant barriers to competition before the reforms and significant changes in the regulatory regime after the application of the relevant laws.

Moreover, the results suggest that occupations characterised by more stringent restrictions before the adoption of the laws tend to be characterised by a comparatively higher intensity of regulations after the laws’ implementation.

Government sources told the paper that the Premier would likely put back an anticipated cabinet reshuffle until after June 28-30, when conservative New Democracy is to hold a congress, or even later.

The Premier currently has more pressing concerns, chiefly overseeing the implementation of reforms voted into law including the politically sensitive process of merging and abolishing state organizations, as well as speeding up the privatization programme.

The Euro Working Group approved the disbursement of EUR 2.8 billion tranche of March. On May 13, the Eurogroup will meet to approve the EUR 4.2 billion tranche of the first quarter of 2013, while in late May Greece expects the IMF Executive Board approval to disburse another EUR 1.8 billion.

On May 20, Greece will have to repay bonds of EUR 5.6 billion held by ECB, which is expected to occur smoothly as the disbursement of EUR 4.2 billion from EFSF will provide the bulk of this issuing.

Finance ministry in an announcement said Euro Working Group meeting approved a EUR 2.8 billion tranche and paved the way for the EUR 6 billion of the tranche expected to be approved by Eurogroup on May 13.

“There was a positive appraisal of the implementation of the Greek program and clear references to the government’s determination to proceed with reforms.”

Meanwhile, GSEE, the confederation of Greek workers, has announced a 24-hour strike to take place on the 1st of May.

The strike is in response to the government’s decision to move the holiday to the 7th of May. A number of individual unions and federations have already announced similar plans, such as PAME.

Athens Metro employees union has announced a walkout from the beginning of their shift until 9am. In their announcement they explain that “May the 1st is a strike, not a holiday”, while adding that “we operate for the striking workers, so that they can easily travel and participate in demonstrations, marches and protests.

Also, Panhellenic maritime worker federation PNO has announced a 24-hour strike of all crews, of all ship categories, which will begin midnight.

According to sources, the Greek premier expressed satisfaction at the fact that the EU was now turning its attention to invigorating economic growth, underlining that specific initiatives and actions should be taken to this direction, AMNA reports.

Samaras referred specifically to the energy sector, noting that price hikes have actually erased the comparative advantages achieved by Greece through labour cost cuts. The high-energy prices and the consequences on both sect oral and regional levels should be discussed at May’s EU Council, Samaras told the meeting.

Meanwhile, government sources from Brussels expressed confidence that ‘there is no problem with the March tranche,’ stressing that the conditions set by troika will be met within a reasonable time. Sources told protothema.gr, the tranche of March, of EUR 2.8 billion, would be evaluated in the informal Eurogroup of April.

As they said, for the approval of this tranche Greece’s lenders have set two conditions: the issue of medicines, which has already been addressed, and the issue of administrative reform, which is still being discussed

According to a statement by the European Commission, ECB and IMF on Greece: “Staff teams from the European Commission, the ECB and the IMF have conducted discussions with the Greek authorities during the last two weeks regarding the review of Greece’s economic programme. Significant progress has been made but a few issues remain outstanding. As additional technical work will be necessary to settle these issues, the mission will take a short break to allow this work to be completed. The mission plans to return to Athens in early April to continue its work.”

The Eurogroup welcomed the result of the debt buy back operation, which will lead to a substantial reduction of the Greek debt-to-GDP ratio.

The Eurogroup reaffirmed that this, together with the initiatives agreed by the Eurogroup on 27 November and full implementation of the adjustment programme, should bring Greece’s public debt back on a sustainable path, to 124% of GDP in 2020. Greece and the other euro area Member States are prepared to take additional measures, if necessary, to ensure that this objective is met.

On that basis, Member States have authorised the EFSF to release the next instalment for a total amount of EUR 49.1 billion.

The disbursement will be made in several tranches. EUR 34.3 bn will be paid out to Greece in the following days. The remaining amount will be disbursed in the first quarter of 2013. First, a further amount to cover bank recapitalization and resolution costs will be paid out in January 2013. Second, funds to cover budgetary financing will be disbursed in three sub-tranches, linked to the implementation of specific MoU milestones to be agreed by the Troika.

The Eurogroup is convinced that continued fiscal and structural reforms, building on the strong commitment demonstrated in the recent past and the wide range of reforms already carried out, will allow the Greek economy to return to a sustainable growth path with higher employment, thus paving the way towards a more prosperous future. We strongly encourage the Greek citizens to sustain their efforts and to implement the necessary reforms.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said: “It’s not only the future of our country, but the stability of the entire Eurozone [that is at stake].”

Samaras said the lack of a debt deal between the country’s lenders over technical reasons did not justify holding up aid to Athens. “Greece did what it had committed it would do. Our partners, together with the IMF, also have to do what they have taken on to do,” he said in a statement. “Any technical difficulties in finding a technical solution

After 12 hours of debate into the early hours of yesterday, finance ministers from the 17 European Union countries together with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank, again failed to reach a deal on Greece’s financing.

A significant difference has emerged between the European Union and the International Monetary Fund over how fast Greece needs to reduce its debt burden.

According to a statement by the Christian-Democrat MP Michael Fuchs, who attended the morning briefing of the parliamentary CDU / CSU group, German Finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble considers the risk of IMF’s withdrawal from the Greek rescue programme as quite real. Fuchs said that Schäuble gave the impression that the IMF may withdraw from the Greek program if there is no solution in the issue of the sustainability of the Greek debt, which, as the German finance minister said, must be avoided.

Menawhile, plans to give Greece extra time to meet deficit-cutting targets would open up a financing gap of around EUR 15 billion through 2014 and EUR 17.6 billion in the two following years, troika said in a report, according to Bloomberg.

The report gave a mixed assessment of Greece’s progress from debt to recovery, saluting Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ coalition for “a significant catching-up” while saying that “risks to the programme remain very large.”

The 115-page draft didn’t include proposals for plugging the financing hole and two critical sections – on Greece’s debt sustainability and recommendations for next steps in the three- year effort to turn the country around – were left blank.

The report assumed that Greece would succeed in getting two additional years, until 2016, to meet fiscal targets. Estimates of the financing gap were in brackets, indicating that they could change before European governments complete work on the Greek rescue package.

Greek media reported late yesterday that the Premier held separate meetings with his two coalition partners, PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos and Democratic Left leader Fotis Kouvelis. Sources said agenda included the new cabinet, as well as the formation of a governmental coordination committee by the three leaders.

“The reshuffle will take place after the disbursement of the tranche,” a government source told journalists. “The finance minister will not be moved.”

The governmental coordination committee, protothema.gr writes, came after DIMAR’s proposal and will be set up after the summit. It will have the following responsibilities: a) monitoring the implementation of decisions of political leaders; b) solving intergovernmental and interministerial problems; c) informing parties about governmental decisions.

Meanwhile, Eurozone finance ministers meet today to give a tentative go-ahead for the disbursement of EUR 44 billion in emergency loans to Greece, as European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) lenders disagree over how to resolve the country’s debt crisis.

According to a Reuters report, the money will only be paid on Dec. 5 if the country meets all remaining conditions.

According to the report, providing Eurozone finance ministers have given their political endorsement, proposals on how to cut Greek debt and provide additional financing can be sent to national parliaments for approval, a step that is expected to be completed by Nov. 30, according to media reports. Then, the troika will check if the remaining reforms are in place on Nov. 28 and Eurozone finance ministers will make the final decision to pay the next tranche to Athens on Dec. 3, Greece and the European Commission would sign a revised memorandum of understanding on Dec. 4 and Greece would get the money on Dec 5.

Sources close to Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said they expected a tranche of EUR 31.5 billion in aid by December 5 and another EUR 13 billion in January, Kathimerini writes.

Maximos Mansion is concerned that the wounds left behind by the recent votes in Parliament might cause irreparable harm to the government, which has even more critical parliamentary tests in the next ten days. The vote on the Troika agreement next Wednesday is the first test, followed by a vote to approve the 2013 state budget scheduled for the weekend after, just hours before the Eurogoup of November 12, which will decide on the disbursement of the tranche of EUR 31.5 billion.

The controversial article on the abolition of the minimum percentage of Greek public utilities might have been approved by a majority of 148 MPs, but the tri-party coalition counts significant losses, as almost none of the critical articles approached a total of 176 members of the parliamentary groups of the coalition, protothema.gr writes.

Meanwhile, the Court of Auditors ruled as unconstitutional the provisions of the new MoU bill providing (for the fifth time since 2010) for the reduction of pensions by 5% to 10% from the beginning of 2013. Also, other provisions of the bill were deemed incompatible with the Constitution, which include increasing the retirement age by 2 years at 67 and eliminating Christmas, Easter and summer leave bonuses for pensioners.

In its ruling, the Court of Auditors referred to a “selective, unilateral and permanent burden” for employees, pensioners in this case, compared to other groups of people who evade taxes or contributions. It describes “this practice that creates unequal treatment of individuals in society, as an easy and quick way of balancing the economic data.”

Several fiscal and structural matters remain to be settled with the troika, however, the aim is to have the deal wrapped up by Thursday when the Euro Working Group meets. Eurozone technical officials will prepare an assessment on the Greek package that will be passed to finance ministers when they hold talks, possibly via teleconference, on October 29.

Negotiations over the next few days are likely to focus on the details of structural reforms demanded by Greece’s lenders. Sources told Sunday’s Kathimerini that the government is close to an agreement that would see employees who have been with the same employer for a minimum of 16 years maintain their right for

compensation equal to 12 months pay. Athens has yet to agree with the troika on whether compensation should be capped beyond that. A decision over the automatic pay increases is also pending.

In terms of public sector dismissals, the government has proposed that 11,000 civil servants who have committed offenses or have been deemed unproductive be fired. However, it may have to agree to another 3,000 bureaucrats losing their jobs after the merging or closure of public bodies.

According to Kathimerini, the government will then strive to submit the measures to Parliament and vote on them by November 12, when the Eurogroup will hold its regular meeting. The government aims to give Parliament eight to nine days to debate the measures at a committee and plenary session level. This means the bills would have to be submitted to the House by November 3, so they could be voted on by midnight on November 11 at the latest.