Greece, creditors agree on key elements of reform package

 Greece and its euro zone creditors Friday reached an agreement on key elements of a reform package, which will enable the release of new loans to the debt-ladden country, said Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem in the Eurogroup meeting held in Malta on Friday.

"We had intensified talks to, first of all, reach an agreement between the institutions and the Greek government on the key elements, the overarching elements, of the policy package," said the Eurogroup president.

The reform package includes measures involving 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), with 1 percent in 2019 mainly based on pensions and the other 1 percent in 2020 mainly based on personal income tax.

The Greek authorities have been invited to reach a full Staff Level Agreement as soon as possible.

Once the full Staff Level Agreement is achieved, the Eurogroup will come back to the issue of the medium-term fiscal path for the post-program period and debt sustainability, in order to reach that overall political agreement.

"The big blocks have now been sorted out and that should allow us to speed up and go for the final stretch," said Dijsselbloem.

Source: Xinhua