PM Samaras: Additional help without new terms, if we meet targets

Greece will start to extricate itself from the grip of memorandums once it achieves the target of a primary surplus and carries out privatisations, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said in an interview with the newspaper "Typos tis Kyriakis" that is due to appear on newspaper stands on Sunday. Provided Greece meets its targets, any additional help needed to cover bonds that mature in the near future will be given without additional terms, he added.

Samaras underlined that the 'fiscal gap' - which he placed at around 2.5 billion euro - will not be covered by new cutbacks to wages and pensions, nor by imposing more taxes. The government's aim, according to the premier, is to cover the gap through structural measures - such as tackling tax evasion and tariff evasion.

The prime minister made it clear that no new measures will be taken if the country meets its targets and repeated that 70 percent of any surplus will be returned to society. "Our lenders have already agreed with us that 70 percent will be spend to relieve the injustices that were imposed, to boost the economy's social cohesion," he stressed.

He repeated that the first to benefit will be those on low pensions and those in uniform, which he described as "particularly let down".
Referring to the discussion underway on the possibility of a third aid package to cover funding 'gaps', he stressed that this was nothing new:
"The things you hear, that Greece might need additional financing, is something that had already been foreseen since last year; it is for relatively small amounts and they have promised to cover us without new terms and without a new agreement, provided we meet our targets," he repeated.

The prime minister spoke of a need for smaller taxation rates, combined with stricter inspections, in order to generate more revenues for the state.
"Already, we have the first signs showing that this wager can be won. If we do win it, we can go further," he said, noting that the faster all sides complied with their obligations, the quicker the taxation burden will be lifted.

He vehemently opposed all thought of early elections, launching a stern attack on main opposition SYRIZA president Alexist Tsipras and said he was "anxious because he sees our policy is starting to pay off."

"Elections will be held when the Constitution says so, not when Mr. Tsipras wants them," he added, accusing the main opposition leader of "waging his last-ditch battle to cancel the country's stabilisation and fiscal reform".

Samaras underlined that elections at the present time would mean more instability, more uncertainty and lead to the sacrifices made by the Greek people going to waste. He ruled out the prospect of a "triple" election in May, to coincide with European and local elections, saying the government will run to the end of its four-year term when the results of the policies followed are apparent and the country has exited from the memorandums and the crisis.

Source: Athens News Agency