Subject: Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 17-03-21 From: "HR-Net News Distribution Manager" CONTENTS [01] Negotiations will have been completed by next Thursday, say gov't sources --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [01] Negotiations will have been completed by next Thursday, say gov't sources Negotiations between the institutions' representatives and Greece will have been concluded by next Thursday, according to government sources in Brussels. The same sources said that Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, Alternate Finance Minister Giorgos Chouliarakis and Labour Minister Efi Achtsioglou will remain in Brussels to continue the negotiations. All involving parties estimate that we are close to an agreement and progress has been made on issues such as the privatisations, the extrajudicial settlement and the 2018 fiscal gap. Regarding the labour issues, government officials estimated that despite the differences with the IMF, there is room for negotiation so that a compromise is reached. Moreover, they said that the package of measures is equal to 2 pct of GDP or 3.6 billion euros. "The fact that we disagree on how much the Uniform Real Estate Ownership Tax (ENFIA) will be reduced is a proof that we have made progress," they underlined. The government officials also stated that the institutions lay emphasis on the immediate conclusion of the programme review. "The IMF in particular has proved that it wants to negotiate in good faith," they said adding that it would be a pity to set once again the economic recovery in danger.