Greek coalition partner backs down over EU reform pledge
(ATHENS) - A minor partner in Greece's new unity government on Sunday dropped objections to giving the European Union written reform pledges in return for loans shielding the country from bankruptcy.
The move by George Karatzaferis, head of the small far-right nationalist party Laos, brings Greece a step closer to securing the long-delayed funds ahead of two-day talks by new Prime Minister Lucas Papademos in Brussels and Luxembourg starting Monday.
But the continued opposition of the conservative New Democracy party remains an obstacle for Papademos to overcome on his first trip abroad to see Greece's fellow European creditors.
"If it is up to me to determine the payment of wages and pensions, it is my duty to secure funding for the under-fire Greek people," Laos leader Karatzaferis told reporters after talks with EU and IMF officials.
Eurozone finance ministers have demanded written commitments from Athens on austerity measures and structural reforms before releasing an instalment of eight billion euros ($11 billion) from a May 2010 bailout deal.
The funds are all that stands between Greece and bankruptcy next month.
A new eurozone lifeline agreed in Brussels last month, slashing the country's 350-billion-euro debt by nearly a third, also hangs in the balance.
The EU-IMF team on Saturday also met New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras, who has insisted that his support for the government set up last week to enact reforms tied to the eurozone bailout deal was commitment enough.
"A lesson must be given to those who hold power but lack logic," said Costas Tzavaras, a senior conservative lawmaker considered close to Samaras.
"We are defending Greece's dignity ... and are fighting to show the other side that they too must be consistent with agreements," he told Flash Radio.
The EU-IMF officials on Friday had talks with Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos and the prime minister, a former European Central Bank deputy chief who was persuaded to lead the new coalition on November 11.
They also met on Saturday with George Papandreou, the former prime minister and socialist Pasok leader, the other major party in the unity government.
Poul Thomsen, the IMF deputy director for Europe who is leading the delegation to Athens, declined to comment after the talks.
The three coalition parties on Wednesday backed Papademos's government in a vote of confidence carried by 255 votes to 38.
Papademos will discuss the deadlock with EU President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso in Brussels on Monday, and then with the head of eurozone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, in Luxembourg on Tuesday.
The 64-year-old prime minister will meet Van Rompuy at 1045 GMT and Barroso at 1400 GMT on Monday, and Juncker at 0830 GMT on Tuesday, his office said.
The interim government is set to hold early elections in February, and the winner will be charged with pushing through the rest of the rescue programme. Samaras is currently leading in the opinion polls to win a four-year term.