Greece-troika talks to begin on Monday

Greek authorities will begin negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission, with Poul Thomsen as head of the delegation, and representatives of the EU and the ECB on Monday, February 24, IMF spokeswoman Angela Gaviria said.

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The aim of the negotiations is to reach "an agreement on a series of policies required to complete the fifth assessment" of the economic program under the Extended Fund Facility, according to the IMF spokeswoman.

During a recent press conference in Washington, IMF's spokesman Gerry Rice referred to the “funding gap” saying this was an issue to be considered when the mission returned in Athens. Regarding the achievement of a primary surplus and whether this "triggered developments" on the Greek debt, Rice reiterated that “Greece’s European partners have agreed to go ahead with a debt relief if this is necessary, which would depend on how aligned Greece is to the implementation of the programme’s pledges.”

He added this would mean that the debt to GDP ratio would fall to 124 percent in 2020 and significantly below 110 percent of by 2022. “If Greece implements the pledges of its programme, the Europeans have said they would help Greece,” he pointed out.