ΑΠΟ ΕΘΝΟΣ
«Τhe Euro Summit stresses the crucial need to rebuild trust with the
Greek authorities as a pre-requisite for a possible future agreement on a
new ESM programme. In this context, the ownership by the Greek
authorities is key, and successful implementation should follow policy
commitments.
A euro area Member State requesting financial
assistance from the ESM is expected to address, wherever possible, a
similar request to the IMF. This is a precondition for the Eurogroup to
agree on a new ESM programme. Therefore Greece will request continued
IMF support (monitoring and financing) from March 2016.
Given
the need to rebuild trust with Greece, the Euro Summit welcomes the
commitments of the Greek authorities to legislate without delay a first
set of measures. These measures, taken in full prior agreement with the
Institutions, will include:
by 15 July
-
the streamlining of the VAT system and the broadening of the tax base
to increase revenue; upfront measures to improve long-term
sustainability of the pension system as part of a comprehensive pension
reform programme;
- the safeguarding of the full legal independence of ELSTAT;
-
full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Treaty on
Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary
Union, in particular by making the Fiscal Council operational before
finalising the MoU and introducing quasi-automatic spending cuts in case
of deviations from ambitious primary surplus targets after seeking
advice from the Fiscal Council and subject to prior approval of the
Institutions;
by 22 July
- the
adoption of the Code of Civil Procedure, which is a major overhaul of
procedures and arrangements for the civil justice system and can
significantly accelerate the judicial process and reduce costs;
- the transposition of the BRRD with support from the European Commission.
Immediately, and only subsequent to legal implementation of the first
four above-mentioned measures as well as endorsement of all the
commitments included in this document by the Greek Parliament, verified
by the Institutions and the Eurogroup, may a decision to mandate the
Institutions to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) be taken.
This decision would be taken subject to national procedures having been
completed and if the preconditions of Article 13 of the ESM Treaty are
met on the basis of the assessment referred to in Article 13.1.
In order to form the basis for a successful conclusion of the MoU, the
Greek offer of reform measures needs to be seriously strengthened to
take into account the strongly deteriorated economic and fiscal position
of the country during the last year. The Greek government needs to
formally commit to strengthening their proposals in a number of areas
identified by the Institutions, with a satisfactory clear timetable for
legislation and implementation, including structural benchmarks,
milestones and quantitative benchmarks, to have clarity on the direction
of policies over the medium-run. They notably need, in agreement with
the Institutions, to:
- carry out ambitious pension reforms
and specify policies to fully compensate for the fiscal impact of the
Constitutional Court ruling on the 2012 pension reform and to implement
the zero deficit clause or mutually agreeable alternative measures by
October 2015;
- adopt more ambitious product market
reforms with a clear timetable for implementation of all OECD toolkit I
recommendations, including Sunday trade, sales periods, pharmacy
ownership, milk and bakeries, except over-the-counter pharmaceutical
products, which will be implemented in a next step, as well as for the
opening of macro-critical closed professions (e.g. ferry
transportation). On the follow-up of the OECD toolkit-II, manufacturing
needs to be included in the prior action;
- on energy
markets, proceed with the privatisation of the electricity transmission
network operator (ADMIE), unless replacement measures can be found that
have equivalent effect on competition, as agreed by the Institutions; on
labour markets, undertake rigorous reviews and modernisation of
collective bargaining, industrial action and, in line with the relevant
EU directive and best practice, collective dismissals, along the
timetable and the approach agreed with the Institutions. On the basis of
these reviews, labour market policies should be aligned with
international and European best practices, and should not involve a
return to past policy settings which are not compatible with the goals
of promoting sustainable and inclusive growth; adopt the necessary steps
to strengthen the financial sector, including decisive action on
non-performing loans and measures to strengthen governance of the HFSF
and the banks, in particular by eliminating any possibility for
political interference especially in appointment processes.
On top of that, the Greek authorities shall take the following actions:
-
to develop a significantly scaled up privatisation programme with
improved governance; valuable Greek assets will be transferred to an
independent fund that will monetize the assets through privatisations
and other means. The monetization of the assets will be one source to
make the scheduled repayment of the new loan of ESM and generate over
the life of the new loan a targeted total of 50 billion euros of which
25 billion euros will be used for the repayment of recapitalisation of
banks and other assets and 50 percent of every remaining euro (i.e. 50
percent of 25 billion euros) will be used for decreasing the debt to GDP
ratio and the remaining 50 percent will be used for investments. This
fund would be established in Greece and be managed by the Greek
authorities under the supervision of the relevant European Institutions.
In agreement with Institutions and building on best international
practices, a legislative framework should be adopted to ensure
transparent procedures and adequate asset sale pricing, according to
OECD principles and standards on the management of State Owned
Enterprises (SOEs);
- in line with the Greek
government ambitions, to modernise and significantly strengthen the
Greek administration, and to put in place a programme, under the
auspices of the European Commission, for capacity-building and
de-politicizing the Greek administration. A first proposal should be
provided by 20 July after discussions with the Institutions. The Greek
government commits to reduce further the costs of the Greek
administration, in line with a schedule agreed with the Institutions;
-
to fully normalize working methods with the Institutions, including
the necessary work on the ground in Athens, to improve programme
implementation and monitoring. The government needs to consult and agree
with the Institutions on all draft legislation in relevant areas with
adequate time before submitting it for public consultation or to
Parliament. The Euro Summit stresses again that implementation is key,
and in that context welcomes the intention of the Greek authorities to
request by 20 July support from the Institutions and Member States for
technical assistance, and asks the European Commission to coordinate
this support from Europe; With the exception of the humanitarian crisis
bill, the Greek government will reexamine with a view to amending
legislations that were introduced counter to the Feb. 20 agreement by
backtracking on previous programme commitments or identify clear
compensatory equivalents for the vested rights that were subsequently
created. The above-listed commitments are minimum requirements to start
the negotiations with the Greek authorities. However, the Euro Summit
made it clear that the start of negotiations does not preclude any final
possible agreement on a new ESM programme, which will have to be based
on a decision on the whole package (including financing needs, debt
sustainability and possible bridge financing).
The Euro
Summit takes note of the possible programme financing needs of between
82 billion and 86 billion euros, as assessed by the Institutions. It
invites the Institutions to explore possibilities to reduce the
financing envelope, through an alternative fiscal path or higher
privatisation proceeds. Restoring market access, which is an objective
of any financial assistance programme, lowers the need to draw on the
total financing envelope. The Euro Summit takes note of the urgent
financing needs of Greece which underline the need for very swift
progress in reaching a decision on a new MoU: these are estimated to
amount to 7 billion euros by July 20 and an additional 5 billion euros
by mid August.
The Euro Summit acknowledges the importance of
ensuring that the Greek sovereign can clear its arrears to the IMF and
to the Bank of Greece and honour its debt obligations in the coming
weeks to create conditions which allow for an orderly conclusion of the
negotiations. The risks of not concluding swiftly the negotiations
remain fully with Greece. The Euro Summit invites the Eurogroup to
discuss these issues as a matter of urgency.
Given the acute
challenges of the Greek financial sector, the total envelope of a
possible new ESM programme would have to include the establishment of a
buffer of 10 billion to 25 billion euros for the banking sector in order
to address potential bank recapitalisation needs and resolution costs,
of which 10 billion euros would be made available immediately in a
segregated account at the ESM.
The Euro Summit is aware that a
rapid decision on a new programme is a condition to allow banks to
reopen, thus avoiding an increase in the total financing envelope. The
ECB/SSM will conduct a comprehensive assessment after the summer. The
overall buffer will cater for possible capital shortfalls following the
comprehensive assessment after the legal framework is applied.
There are serious concerns regarding the sustainability of Greek debt.
This is due to the easing of policies during the last twelve months,
which resulted in the recent deterioration in the domestic macroeconomic
and financial environment. The Euro Summit recalls that the euro area
Member States have, throughout the last few years, adopted a remarkable
set of measures supporting Greece's debt sustainability, which have
smoothed Greece's debt servicing path and reduced costs significantly.
Against this background, in the context of a possible future ESM
programme, and in line with the spirit of the Eurogroup statement of
November 2012, the Eurogroup stands ready to consider, if necessary,
possible additional measures (possible longer grace and payment periods)
aiming at ensuring that gross financing needs remain at a sustainable
level. These measures will be conditional upon full implementation of
the measures to be agreed in a possible new programme and will be
considered after the first positive completion of a review.
The Euro Summit stresses that nominal haircuts on the debt cannot be undertaken.
The Greek authorities reiterate their unequivocal commitment to honour
their financial obligations to all their creditors fully and in a timely
manner.
Provided that all the necessary conditions contained
in this document are fulfilled, the Eurogroup and ESM Board of Governors
may, in accordance with Article 13.2 of the ESM Treaty, mandate the
Institutions to negotiate a new ESM programme, if the preconditions of
Article 13 of the ESM Treaty are met on the basis of the assessment
referred to in Article 13.1.
To help support growth and job
creation in Greece (in the next 3-5 years) the Commission will work
closely with the Greek authorities to mobilise up to 35 billion euros
(under various EU programmes) to fund investment and economic activity,
including in SMEs. As an exceptional measure and given the unique
situation of Greece the Commission will propose to increase the level of
pre-financing by 1 billion euro to give an immediate boost to
investment to be dealt with by the EU co-legislators. The Investment
Plan for Europe will also provide funding opportunities for Greece."