ATHENS — As Greece scrambles to secure a €86 billion bailout this week, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has turned the focus onto lawmakers themselves, backing legislation to abolish tax breaks for MPs and cut wages for ministers and heads of public organizations.
At a meeting Monday with key ministers, Tsipras called for the changes to be brought quickly before Parliament, according to a Greek government official.
Tsipras stressed the changes were not a result of pressure from the creditors — the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank — who demanded broad public spending cuts in exchange for a third bailout.
“This is a political initiative, not only with an economic impact but with symbolic content,” he was quoted as saying. “The political system must coincide with public feeling (so) a bill must be presented without delay to abolish the tax exemptions of lawmakers and rationalize the earnings of ministers.”
Tsipras wants the agreement with creditors to be finalized by August 15 so Greece can make a €3.2 billion payment to the European Central Bank on August 20.
His finance minister, Euclid Tsakalotos, held talks with negotiators from the European Commission, the ECB, the European Stability Mechanism bailout fund and the International Monetary Fund which ran late into the night on Sunday, the semi-official Athens news agency reported.
“Efforts are being made to conclude the negotiations, the horizon is by Monday night or early Tuesday,” said a Greek official cited by Reuters.
European Commission spokesperson Annika Breidthardt said the creditor institutions had been “working day and night” with Athens to finalize the agreement, adding: “Progress has indeed been made and we expect further progress throughout the day and beyond as talks continue to resolve the remaining issues.”
Another EU official told POLITICO that the negotiators were working towards a self-imposed Tuesday deadline to give the Greek Parliament time to vote on the detailed reform proposals on Wednesday or Thursday. The package would then be submitted to the Eurogroup of finance ministers from the currency union at a meeting that could be scheduled for Friday.
Other eurozone member country parliaments that also have to hold a vote on the third bailout deal for Greece — including the German Bundestag — would then have time to recall lawmakers next week, in time for the August 20 deadline, the official said.
Asked if the talks could really end by Tuesday, the official — speaking on condition of anonymity — said: “It’s feasible but it may not happen.” However, the official said the talks were proceeding in a much more productive atmosphere.
“Compared to the negotiations over the last five to six months, this is totally different. There’s really full cooperation and real exchanges between parties,” said the EU official.
However, Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert cautioned at a news conference Monday that it was more important to secure a thorough deal than a quick one, and a senior lawmaker from Merkel’s conservative party voiced doubts about the likelihood of a deal in the next couple of days.
“It would be great if we had a good, sustainable, credible solution by August 20. But that is not a ‘must,’ of course. If important points remain open, we can’t seal an agreement,” said Ralph Brinkaus, deputy floor leader of the Christian Democrats/Christian Social Union bloc, in an interview with Deutschlandfunk.
Brinkhaus told the German radio station that the points still needing agreement included the role of the IMF in the bailout package and the politically sensitive issue of how the bank stabilization element of the rescue package will be set up — “will it be organized from Brussels, from Frankfurt, from Athens. So there are still a lot of questions that are open.”
Tara Palmeri contributed to this article.