Date of troika arrival remains unknown

The precise date of the return of the troika to Athens remains unknown, with Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras stating on Saturday evening that the representatives of the country’s creditors will be arriving in the coming days.

Speaking after the meeting that he had with the Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Evangelos Venizelos – that was called for the government’s coordination ahead of the troika visit – Stournaras said that the heads of the creditors’ mission will arrive in the next few days, refusing to give a specific date.

Asked on whether there could be an agreement by the Eurogroup meeting of January 27, the minister said that this will be known after the feedback on the latest data that Athens has forwarded to its creditors. He added that the government sent on Friday all the data concerning the bridging of the fiscal gap of 2014, estimated at 1.2 billion euros.

Finance Ministry sources said that the target date for an agreement with the troika is in mid-February, so that Greece collects the tranche of 4.9 billion euros by the end of next month.