Samaras has requested regular updates by FinMin Yannis Stournaras on the implementation of the VAT reduction in food.

Restaurants and other catering outlets that pass on a recently agreed VAT reduction to consumers will receive a special sign that they can display to customers from the associations to which they belong.

This was decided during a meeting between Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis, restaurant owners, the Hellenic Confederation of Professionals, Craftsment and Merchants (GSEVEE) and the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE), AMNA informs.

The finance ministry’s general secretary for revenues Haris Theoharis also left open the possibility of adopting a SETE proposal calling for the 24-hour closure of any business failing to issue receipts.

The system proposed is based on the French model adopted after a similar VAT rate cut in 2009. Under this, the various business associations will award the enterprises wanting to participate in the system with a special sign certifying that they have revised their prices to incorporate the VAT reduction and pass gains on to consumers. A separate sign of a different colour will be handed out to those businesses that only partially pass the VAT cut to their customers.

The Premier has also prioritized tourism, public administration, taxation, outstanding debts, health (insurance funds and EOPYY) and education.

What lies ahead is Samaras’ visit to Washington in August, during which the Premier will have the opportunity to discuss with US President Barrack Obama a number of international matters, such as Cyprus and the naming dispute with FYROM.

Maximos Mansion sources argue that despite the crisis, Greece has managed to increase its standing, in part thanks to the developments in energy, such as the singing of the TAP pipeline and the search for hydrocarbons.

The Prime Minister is also hoping on the positive messages from the recent visit by US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. The Greek side hopes that the PM’s visit to Washington will attract investments.

Talks with the troika would be continued next week, Stournaras told journalists exiting a meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and the government’s economic staff.

Asked what he will report at the Eurogroup on the negotiations, he said “it is enough for me to say that the negotiations are continuing and that we are on a good path,” AMNA writes.

According to media reports, Stournaras insisted that there was no “blockage” in talks and that there would be “no problem” with the release of further rescue funding, though he gave no indication about when Greece can hope to receive two loan tranches worth EUR 2.8 billion and EUR 6 billion respectively.

According to a leaked document forming the basis of the talks with the troika as regards the civil service, troika

officials have a set of demands. These reportedly include the completion of staffing plans for 275,000 employees, the immediate placing of 8,500 state workers into a mobility scheme, the dismissal of 2,000 civil servants accused of disciplinary offenses, and the approval of a plan for the gradual dismissal of a total of 20,000 state workers by the end of 2014 (of these, 7,500 should leave by the end of this year).

According to Kathimerini, Administrative Reforms minister Antonis Manitakis claims this the immediate dismissal of the 2,000 oath-breaking civil servants is not so straightforward as disciplinary cases must be resolved before staff can be dismissed. Sources said the government was drafting a bill to accelerate the process of the disciplinary hearings though Stournaras denied this yesterday, the paper writes.

The issue appeared to be driving a wedge between conservative New Democracy, which leads the coalition, and the Democratic Left party, to which Manitakis belongs. Democratic Left MPs claimed that four conservative ministers – holding the Health, Labor, Education and Interior portfolios – were to blame for the delay in civil service reform, not Manitakis.

Troika team is scheduled to depart and will return to Athens at the end of the month or at the beginning of April to continue talks.

According to tovima.gr, yesterday’s deadlock ruined the -as proved- rudimentary government planning. During the two-and-a-half-hours long meeting at the Maximos Mansion, between the Premier and the troika representatives, the gap that separates the two sidesbecame fully apparent and the government’s “red lines” of resistance were hit hard. At the same time, sources pointed out an apparent lack of preparation on the Greek side.

After the meeting, Finance minister Yannis Stournaras said the government is very close to a deal with the troika. Stournaras said the troika officials are to leave Athens but would come back in a few days to continue talks. The finance minister added that significant progress has been achieved on all issues on the negotiating table, with only some technical matters still being open, AMNA reports.

Replying to a question as to whether latest developments would affect the disbursement of the bailout loan’s March EUR 2.8-billion tranche, Stournaras appeared certain that Greece “will get the money,” adding that discussions will continue to achieve a final agreement.

According to Kathimerini, no conclusion was reached on matters including the reduction of civil servant numbers and a payment plan for firms and individuals who owe social security contributions, or as regards the possibility of bank customers being given more favorable terms to repay their loans and mortgages.

Earlier, enet.gr informs, government officials and troika inspectors held a lengthy meeting that concluded an hour before the meeting with the Prime Minister. Present in the meeting were Stournaras, Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, as well as the premier’s close advisors Chrysanthos Lazaridis and Stavros Papastavrou.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said in Parliament: “The country had reached the edge, it run the risk of exiting the Eurozone and go bankrupt. We, the three parties that support the government, are trying at the lowest possible cost -for the Greek citizen- to bring the country into a sustainable situation.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund is preparing to send a staff mission to Greece next month to assess the country’s performance under an austerity program backed by an international rescue, an IMF spokesman said Thursday.

The IMF mission will begin discussions in Athens with Greek and European Union officials in late February, IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said at a news briefing.

“A staff team will start discussions in Athens with the authorities, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank in late February. The purpose of the mission is to assess progress on the implementation of measures in the programme. The visit is expected to conclude around mid-March.”

Alternate Finance Minister Christos Staikouras pledged yesterday that the government will pay debts amounting to EUR 3.5 billion by the end of March as its agreement with its creditors provides for, rising to 8 billion by year-end. According to Kathimerini, the Finance Ministry intends to pay debts to the market amounting to some EUR 8 billion by the end of the year, having already fulfilled obligations totaling EUR 962 million and expecting to pay another EUR 1.9 billion by the end of February.

The IMF released €3.2 billion euros in aid to Greece in January that had been frozen for months amid fears about the country’s ability to surmount its debt crisis.

The IMF executive board approved release of the funds after completing two reviews of Greece’s economic performance under an IMF loan programme that is part of an international rescue also supported by the European Union. Both IMF and EU have committed a total of 240 billion euros in rescue loans to Greece since 2010.

The IMF has been pushing Europe to do more to solve the Greek debt crisis, after the Fund extended its Greek rescue loan to four years from three years and lowered the interest charged on it.

Stournaras said the marathon negotiations, on which hinges the release of a sorely needed rescue loan installment, will continue after Thursday and Friday’s Brussels summit, Associated Press reports.

According to protothema.gr, troika requirements are prolonging the subverting Antonis Samaras’ planning, creating confusion over the release of the tranche of EUR 31.5 billion.

Samaras wants to go to the EU summit having closed the deal with the Troika to be able to claim that he did his part. The government wants the disbursement to come in one installment by the end of November because, as the Premier has said publicly, this is the endurance limit of the Greek economy. The PM wants to have the agreement of his two political partners when he goes to Brussels.

The issue of Greece will not be discussed at the Summit. Government sources said they believe the Greek issue will be postponed for the special meeting in November. Still it wants to finish with its part in order to elicit a positive statement and initiate developments that can pass the decided measures.

EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said yesterday that he expects agreement to be reached within the coming days, preferably this week, on fiscal objectives and structural reforms for Greece.

In an interview on the sidelines of meetings of Asian and European finance officials in Bangkok, Rehn said that talks with Greece on conditions for the disbursement of its next aid installment should be completed by mid-November, Wall Street Journal reports.

Greece’s creditors are considering giving the country more time to implement fiscal tightening, Rehn said. But he declined to provide further details because he said any agreement would be part of a complete package.

Lenders’ representatives reject entirely the structural measures and insist to close the package with revenues generated from additional cuts in salaries and pensions. Finance Ministry sources told reporters that the troika is asking for more cuts in wages, pensions and benefits while the the conditionality clause is also on the table. Stournaras meets again with the troika tomorrow.

Prime Minister’s associates told reporters  that while negotiating with representatives of the troika in Greece the government is also taking part in political negotiations on a higher level. Samaras is in constant communication with both his European counterparts and with senior EU officials. The government’s aim is to comply with the schedules and close the package until the next Eurogroup. PM’s associates appear confident that an agreement with the troika will be reached soon and that in the coming days there will be a meeting of the political leaders that support the government.

According to the draft budget submitted to parliament yesterday, Greece will seek to shrink its fiscal deficit to 4.2% of GDP in 2013 from a projected 6.6% in 2012, with its economy forecast to contract by 3.8%. The draft budget targets a primary surplus of 1.1% of GDP next year with unemployment expected to hit 24.7%. Public debt is projected to reach 179.3% of GDP.

According to AP, the budget includes about EUR 7.8 billion worth of austerity measures for next year (part of the EUR 13.5 billion package) of which EUR 3.8 billion are to come from pension cuts and EUR 1.1 billion from salary cuts. Other cutbacks include trimming costs for healthcare, education and defense.

Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras submitted the draft budget to Parliament after talks with the troika.

Kouvelis stressed that the only thing left now are the details of the final package. “What we ask is a replacement and extension clause in a 4-year phase.” He added that the debate in parliament will include the whole framework, that is the measures, growth, taxation and tax evasion.

FinMin Yannis Stournaras confirmed that there is agreement and therefore there will be no more meetings of the leaders regarding the measures. He added that there is an intention to include clauses for meeting the objectives, that the measures will be voted as soon as possible and that “I have a basis upon which I can negotiate with troika.”

Government decreased by EUR 1 billion to 10.5 the savings that will come from reductions in public expenditure, while raising from EUR 2 to 3 billion the revenues that will be derived from tax increases over the next two years or four if Greece’s lenders agree to an extension to the adjustment period.

According to Kathimerini, of the EUR 10.5 billion in spending cuts, EUR 6.5 billion is coming from cuts to wages, pensions and benefits. The rest is due from savings produced by structural reforms. Up to EUR 8 billion of measures are due to be implemented next year.

As a result of the cuts to pensions, retirees will lose roughly a month’s worth of payments. Any pensions between EUR 1,000 and 1,500 will be cut by 2%. Those between EUR 1,500 and 2,000 will be reduced by 5% and any above EUR 2,000 are to be slashed by 10%. Beyond that, pensioners will have all their extra holiday payments abolished. These had already been reduced to a total of EUR 800 per year. Retirees with supplementary pensions will be even worse off as two monthly payments are to be cut.The increase in the retirement age from 65 to 67 is due to be implemented from next year. Civil servants face cuts of up to 10% to their salaries, while those working at public enterprises will see reductions of between 20 and 30%. Policemen and soldiers will also have their wages reduced. The cuts will be from 6% to 23%. Holiday payments for civil servants, which add up to EUR 1,000 gross, will be abolished.

In terms of tax revenues, the government is aiming to raise about EUR 1.5 billion from tougher measures for the self-employed. They will lose their tax-free threshold of EUR 5,000, although it will remain in place for salaried professionals. Self-employed professionals will be taxed on the whole of their income at a rate of 30 or 35%. Some 300,000 farmers who are currently not obliged to keep records of what they sell will have to do so and will be taxed at a similar rate to other self-employed Greeks.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras hopes there is still room for the decision to release the EUR 31.5 billion tranche to be taken at the summit of 18 October -where officials will discuss the request for extension as well- and then convene an emergency eurogroup that will specify decisions. The package of measures will be presented to a Eurogroup working group meeting, finance ministry sources told ANA.

Coalition leaders, government officials and the troika have to finalize the package within the next ten days and get it approved by the parliament, to prepare the auditors’ report that should be presented at the EU summit on October 18-19. Meetings that will determine the final synthesis of measures have already started with the green light from coalition parties to be expected within the week.

According to Kathimerini, coalition leaders are due to meet Wednesday or on Thursday to finalize the cuts before Prime Minister Antonis Samaras flies to Rome on Friday to meet Italian Premier Mario Monti. Samaras is aiming to secure an agreement with PASOK’s Evangelos Venizelos and Democratic Left’s Fotis Kouvelis before leaving.

The government is hoping that after that, Stournaras will conclude talks with the troika and the coalition can draw the relevant bills to be submitted to Parliament.

Following FinMin Yannis Stournaras’ meeting with troika officials yesterday, Finance Ministry sources said there had been “more progress” between the two sides but that the talks would continues. Finance Minister remained evasive on the issue of whether a rise in the retirement age from 65 to 67 would be one of the measures adopted by the coalition in order to clinch the deal with its lenders, Kathimerini writes. “We’ll see,” Stournaras told reporters. “I am more optimistic … we have turned the corner. There is more trust between us and our partners but we still have a long way to go,” Stournaras told the Guardian. “We have to have cleared up everything in the next two weeks so that everything can be put on the table at the [next] euro group meeting on 8 October. If we can’t clear everything there can be no agreement,” he said referring to the EUR 31.5 billion aid installment Athens has been attempting to secure since July.

The government and the troika have already agreed on EUR 7.5 billion worth of cuts in the EUR 11.5 billion austerity package, but talks are continuing as the troika is raising concerns about another EUR 4 billion of cuts, ANA reports. The troika is reportedly placing the two-year increase in the retirement age, from 65 to 67, as a condition for less odious austerity measures in other fields. Public sector layoffs and cuts to pensions and social welfare benefits will also be discussed during the government – troika negotiations.

Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and his team have made a positive start and “have handled the political situation quite well,” a source close to the troika representatives told Reuters. According to the news agency story, the Greek Premier has shifted the political agenda away from the populist promises of his campaign and seems determined to pass a package of tough austerity measures that include cuts in wages and reduction in the number of civil servants, positively surprising many EU officials and the IMF.

The government is proceeding to cuts in special payrolls of uniformed officers, academics, NHS doctors and justice officials; the reductions range from 6% to 35%, according to protothema.gr. The cuts will be scaled, with the lowest rates imposed on uniformed personnel (military, police, firefighters, and port officers) and the highest ones on justice employees. It will be applied retroactively from 1 July 2012 and will save state cofers aroung EUR 360 million.The cuts include the elimination of automatic wage promotions for Security Forces, which will cause new income losses that the unionists of the industry. The clipping at the earnings of justice officials will be much larger as according to information, the weighted average reduction will exceed 20%, reaching 35% for highly paid magistrates.The economic team estimates that the cuts for AEI – TEI professors will begin at 5% for earnings up to EUR 1,000 per month and will reach 30% for those academics who receive more than EUR 2,500. Average losses are calculated at 17.5%. Doctors in the NHS system will see their salaries cut by 13% on average, while reductions for diplomats and high-ranking clergy will be close to 20%.

According to ANA, in joint statements made after their meeting at the Maximos Mansion, Samaras said that he briefed Juncker on privatisations, structural reforms and the EUR 11.7 billion cutback plan, as well as the government’s efforts to tackle tax evasion and illegal immigration. Samaras repeated the government’s determination to reach its targets. He added that “very soon all those who speculate in favour of a Greek exit from the Eurozone will be proven wrong”.

Eurogroup head stressed he’s “coming as a friend”, something which “has been proven on multiple occasions”. Juncker said Greek citizens have made huge efforts, something which other Eurozone members do not always realise.

A decision on whether to grant the government additional time to meet its targets will be based on the troika’s report, Juncker said. “I have to underline this will depend on the findings of the troika mission and we have to discuss the length of the period and other dimensions,” he said.

Warning it is the country’s “last chance” to avoid bankruptcy, Juncker urged the government to push through austerity cuts and said a credible strategy to close the fiscal gap is a pre-requisite for disbursing the next aid tranche. “The ball is in the Greek court – in fact this is the last chance and Greek citizens have to know this,” he said.

According to protothema.gr, the meeting was attended by Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras and deputy minister Christos Staikouras. They discussed all the developments in Greece and the Eurozone, the necessary steps to be taken to tackle the debt crisis, and the geostrategic conditions for stability, given the turbulent situation in Syria.