Pension Cuts

The government should at long last show some recognition towards those parties that backed it in passing the third bailout memorandum in the summer of 2015 so as to keep the country from falling off a cliff.

'One-off stipends are being disbursed to more and more groups of beneficiaries, which are arbitrarily determined when [super] primary surpluses are reached.'

Moscovici also underlined that he backs Athens’ decision not to cut pensions, as that would be a painful measure that would reduce the income of 1.4mn citizens by 14 percent.

One must note that although the European Commission approved the budget, at the same time it made known its concerns about delays in implementing reforms.

Centeno said that the lending “institutions” trust Greece as regards continued implementation of reforms and meeting commitments in the coming years, so as to become a success story.

One day the government urges pensioners to file applications for back pay, and the next, realising that its pledges are unfeasible, it hastens to bring them back to reality.

The fate of this country was determined by an unprincipled political system, without values or an inspiration to serve, the only concern of which was power, for the perpetuation of which it was prepared to satisfy everyone and everything for a handful of votes.

A formal political decision on changes to the Greek budget, including the cancellation of pension cuts, is expected at an extraordianary Eurogroup meeting in November.

A large number of retirees are suing for the reinstatement of holiday bonuses that were abolished In addition, those who retired after May, 2016, whose pensions were cut a priori under the terms of a law tabled by the labour minister Yorgos Katrougalos, are suing to reverse the measure.

'Although Greece has the fiscal space this year, it is not sufficiently large to completely cancel pension cuts that have been agreed upon,' said ESM chief Klaus Regling

The narrative regarding a “clean exit” and a Greek success story due to the completion of the memorandum in August, was followed by the constant demands of creditors.

Tsakalotos will provide the European Commission with data which confirm that even without pension, cuts the 3.5 percent primary surplus target will be exceeded, rendering the cuts unnecessary, and that measures to counter austerity can be implemented over a four-year period.

Creditors will determine whether the assumptions on which the draft budget is based - a 2.5 percent growth rate and a 3.56 percent primary surplus – can be achieved without resorting to the politically painful pension cuts measure.

European Stability Mechanism (ESM) chief Klaus Regling indicated that the institutions responsible for the surveillance of the Greek economy will have the last word on pension cuts.

The government treats an issue such as pension cuts as if it concerns mainly its own political survival, rather than the lives of senior citizens.

Despite the mixed signals from creditors, which Tsakalotos recognised, he said that, “We have the fiscal space not to cut pensions [as of 1 January, 2019] and not lower the tax-free threshold [as of 1 January 2020].

The solution does not lie in the death of older pensioners, as the PM implied at the Thessaloniki International Fair, but rather with the creation of new jobs and lower unemployment rates.

It is impermissible for government cadres to imply or clearly state that the cancellation of pension cuts is essentially a given, when in fact there has been no tangible result from talks with creditors

Parliament Speaker Nikos Voutsis indicated that the general election will not be held before local and European Parliament elections in May

A spokesperson of the European Commission says that the only position that should be taken into account on pension cuts issue is the reply given in Latin by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, “Pacta sunt servanda”

ESM chief Klaus Regling hastened once again to clearly warn that debt relief measures agreed to by the Eurogroup can be suspended if the adjustment programme is not strictly implemented

Coeure referred to the need to improve the governance of banks, and called on the government to avoid practices that could influence their credit decisions

The finance ministry has been feverishly threshing out various alternative scenarios, in order to persuade creditors that pension cuts are not necessary

Naturally, SYRIZA cadres do not forget that the party benefited hugely from the electoral and political collapse of PASOK, already by 2012

Given New Democracy’s insistence that any handouts must not jeopardise fiscal stabilisation, the government wants to draw a line between, “conservative” and “progressive” political forces