Greece’s creditors are getting closer on a deal to ease the country’s debt burden, according to Eurogroup president Mario Centeno.
Greece’s €86 billion (Dh388.15bn) bailout programme is set to run out in August, and creditors are working on finding a compromise on debt repayments that would help to manage the country’s financing needs after it stops receiving international aid. A debt deal would also allow the IMF to participate in the current bailout.
“The positions today are much closer than they used to be before,” Mr Centeno, who is Portugal’s finance minister and chairs the meetings of his euro-zone counterparts, said in Washington. “We still have a final mile to go but there is a positive sentiment around the table so I think that reflects a true willingness to be part of the programme.”
Further easing Greek debt is a key precondition for the Washington-based IMF before it can participate in the country’s programme. While the IMF has co-financed Greece’s first two bailouts it hasn’t yet activated its third one, arguing the euro zone must arrange for more debt sustainability. But the participation of the fund, even a few months before the end of the bailout, is important for some countries including Germany, who see the IMF coming on board as a seal of approval that will offer credibility to the bailout.
A “committed presence” by the IMF will also help with market confidence, Mr Centeno said.
Talks among Greece’s creditors and euro-zone countries on likely debt measures have been going on at a technical level for months. That includes a proposal to link debt repayments to economic growth, so the country can pay back more if it is doing well, and less if it isn’t. The aim is to have a final agreement in the early summer, but key differences among creditors on the scope and type of debt relief persist.
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Read more:
Green shoots of recovery but little relief for Greeks
Greece wins €6.7bn loan as part of third ESM bailout instalment
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The IMF would like to see wide-scale debt relief on all of Greece’s euro-zone loans - including those from other countries and the bloc’s bailout fund. That demand is facing resistance by many European creditors who are only willing to discuss easing the terms of some loans.
Other disagreements have to do with whether the debt relief will be granted to Greece unconditionally or whether it should be tied to budget discipline and further economic reforms. The differences were discussed at a meeting of officials from Greece’s key creditor countries and institutions on the sidelines of the IMF meetings in Washington this week.
In order for the IMF to have sufficient time to activate its bailout for Greece before it runs out in August, an agreement on all these parameters will likely need to be struck by the end of next month.
For Mr Centeno, the key is that any conditions attached to debt relief come from Greece’s own plans for growth. “We all want debt conditionality to be embedded in the growth strategy for Greece,” he said, referring to the country’s plans for the economy in its post-bailout life.
“Ownership is the single word that may and should define the process in the coming months.”
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360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
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Austrian Grand Prix race timings
Weekend schedule for Austrian Grand Prix - all timings UAE
Friday
Noon-1.30pm First practice
4-5.30pm Second practice
Saturday
1-2pm Final practice
4pm Qualifying
Sunday
4pm Austrian Grand Prix (71 laps)
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
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Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
Studying addiction
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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On sale: Available for preorder now
