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WORLD NEWSTuesday 6 October 2015

Tsipras urges reform as part of strategy to exit crisis

NICHOLAS PAPHITIS As part of the bailout, his
PAN PYLAS
Associated Press government has to enact
ATHENS, Greece (AP) —
Greek Prime Minister Alexis more onerous spending
Tsipras insisted Monday that
the priority of his newly re- cuts and tax hikes. Accord-
elected government is to
deliver on its bailout prom- ing to Monday’s draft bud-
ises so that the country can
start tapping international get, these will be worth 4.35
bond markets for money
by 2017. billion euros in 2016.
His comments to Greek
lawmakers came as Euro- Tsipras said his government
pean creditors urged Tsip-
ras to maintain his zeal for has “a clear mandate”
reforms in return for billions
more of bailout cash and a and that it will “start a series
promise of talks on relieving
the country’s debt burden. of reforms that will radically
As a condition of July’s
three-year 86 billion-euro change Greece.”
($96 billion) bailout agree-
ment — the country’s third There was an acknowl-
since 2010 — Greece has
to overhaul its economy edgement among
by reforming its labor mar-
kets, raising taxes, cutting Greece’s European credi-
spending and putting state
investments up for sale. If it tors that Tsipras has altered
doesn’t, Greece would not
considerably since he first

got elected on an anti-aus-

terity platform in January.

After Monday’s meeting of

the eurozone’s 19 finance

ministers in Luxembourg,

the group’s top official,

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras presents the policies statement of his newly elected govern- Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said
ment at parliament, Athens, Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. Greece’s European creditors voiced hope
Monday that the country’s government will deliver on promises to overhaul its economy, which the Greek government
would pave the way to the release of billions of bailout cash and potential help on debt repay-
ments. has changed tack since it

(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) agreed to bailout in July.

“Maintaining that attitude

be able to tap the bailout ruptcy and an exit from the its four-year mandate, will for reform is crucial to re-
funds and would again euro. set its seal on the country’s
face the prospect of bank- “This government, during final exit from the crisis,” gain trust in and outside
Tsipras told lawmakers at
the opening of a three- Greece, so crucial for eco-
day parliamentary debate
on his government’s policy nomic recovery,” he said.
platform, which ends with
a confidence vote late Dijsselbloem expressed his
Wednesday. “I know that
the road ahead will not hope that the Greek gov-
be easy ... But at the same
time this will be a period of ernment will get 2 billion
hope.”
Greece will only have com- euros ($2.1 billion) in bail-
pletely emerged from its
crisis when it can indepen- out cash by the middle
dently and consistently bor-
row in international mar- of October once certain
kets. Except for a brief peri-
od in 2014, it’s been unable economic measures have
to do so since 2010 when
investors grew concerned been implemented. He
about the country’s ability
to service its sky-high debts. said Greece should be
“Over the next 20 crucial
months ... our target is to able to get a further 1 bil-
have restored market li-
quidity, and regained mar- lion euros at the end of the
ket access,” Tsipras said.
Tsipras’ address comes just month, once the next set of
a couple of weeks after his
left-wing Syriza party unex- measures is agreed.
pectedly won the general
election by a wide margin Greece will then face a re-
despite a series of U-turns
that ended up with July’s view to make sure it has im-
bailout agreement. Fol-
lowing the election, Tsipras plemented all the required
reformed his previous coali-
tion government with the measures. A positive first re-
small, right-wing Indepen-
dent Greeks. view is crucial as it will trig-

ger the next phase in the

country’s rescue — cash

injections for the crippled

banks that could total 25

billion euros, and discus-

sions on how to lighten

Greece’s debt load.

“This will be perhaps the last

chance to restore Greek

banks to health,” Tsipras

said. Greece has relied on

bailout funds from its euro-

zone partners and the In-

ternational Monetary Fund

since the spring of 2010 and

is heading back into reces-

sion after painful controls

on money transfers were

imposed by the govern-

ment in late June when it

appeared headed for a

euro exit.q