The Greek government submitted to Parliament yesterday (12 Oct) an omnibus bill containing a first set of prior actions that Greece must implement as part of its bailout agreement, in order to unlock the first 2-billion-euro tranche of rescue loans.

The bill is to be put up for debate in the coming days before a plenary vote on Friday night and foresees phasing out early retirement, introducing stricter penalties for tax evasion and raising taxes on property rentals. A comprehensive overhaul of Greece’s pension system is expected to be presented by Greek authorities to creditors next month.

The government must legislate a series of reforms in order to conclude a first review this month by creditors (European Commission, European Central Bank, Eurozone rescue fund and International Monetary Fund), and move quickly ahead with banks recapitalization and talks on debt relief. 

Draghi calls for full implementation, debt relief

In an interview with Kathimerini newspaper on Sunday (11 Oct), the President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi urged Greek authorities to focus on the implementation of the bailout agreement, in order to pave the way for the critical bank recapitalization and the discussion for debt relief. 

The ECB chief argued that "there will have to be an element of debt relief" in order for Greece to get back on the path to sustainable growth but first the government "should show that it has taken ownership of the various programme deliverables and is determined to achieve them".