The Greek government and the troika of international lenders are deadlocked over a final round of measures required for the last bailout tranche, according to a Bloomberg report. Athens is resisting pressure from creditors for additional budget savings of 2.5 billion euros in 2015. The troika representatives say that Greece has failed to come up with any measures to close the fiscal gap and meet its commitments. At the same time, the Greek coalition deny that there is a gap. This means that Greece may miss the December 8 deadline for the agreement on measures required for the last tranche to be released, according to the report. “It’s crucial that Greek authorities work with the troika to complete the current review,” Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chairs meetings of euro finance ministers, said November 6 in Brussels. There’s a need for “a clear cut between the finishing of the program and any instruments that will follow up on that from January 1,” Dijsselbloem said. The markets’ uncertainty has caused a raise in yields of 10-year bonds, reaching 8.13 percent today, meaning that, essentially, Greece still needs the financial support of its international creditors. The review must be completed by December 8, when European finance ministers are due to hold the final meeting for 2014. If negotiations have a positive outcome, the lenders can agree on a credit line to replace the current program. If not, Greece will be left without financial backing from its partners. Greece needs to put more concrete proposals for next year’s budget on the table to unlock the dialogue, but that is very unlikely, according to the Bloomberg report. The 2015 budget will be tabled for approval in the Greek parliament on Friday. Greek Premier Antonis Samaras and Vice President Evangelos Venizelos have ongoing meetings with Finance Minister Gikas Hardouvelis to find a solution.
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