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Creditors to Determine Whether to Release Greek Aid

Representatives of the troika of creditors — the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund — came to determine whether the Greek authorities have made sufficient progress with their economic overhauls to justify the release of the next installment of aid for the country.

But before talks between the creditors and Greek officials began on Monday, news reports suggested that the lenders planned to release only part of the next installment of aid rather than the full 8.1 billion euros, or $10.6 billion, in order to keep pressure on Athens to deliver on its pledges.

The I.M.F., which last month conceded that the troika made major missteps in Greece’s first bailout in 2010, might have to suspend loan payments to Greece if the authorities are unable to cover a funding shortfall. The organization’s rules dictate that governments must have at least 12 months of financing secured to receive bailout money.

Although the I.M.F.’s admission of error had fueled hopes that the creditors would adopt a more lenient approach, the Greek media was dominated Monday by speculation that the government might be asked to impose further austerity measures despite a deepening recession and unemployment that has climbed to 27 percent.

The reports cited a leaked document, purportedly sent by the troika to Greek officials, suggesting that the government might have to make fresh spending cuts if it fails to collect adequate tax revenue and close a funding shortfall of around 1 billion euros. The gap is attributed chiefly to the debts of the main health care provider, Eopyy. Neither the government nor troika officials would comment on the news reports.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who saw his government’s majority in the 300-seat Parliament shrink to just three members following the withdrawal of the junior partner in the coalition, the Democratic Left, has insisted that no more austerity will be imposed. In a speech to a congress of his conservative New Democracy party on Sunday, he emphasized the need for unity to ensure that the “unbelievable sacrifices” of the Greek people had not been in vain. Perhaps in response to Mr. Samaras’s appeal, two lawmakers who had left the party returned to its ranks on Monday, bringing the government’s majority in Parliament to 155.

But delays in implementing an overhaul of the public sector, aggravated by the political crisis last month, have put Greece in a difficult bargaining position. Athens is set to miss a July 31 deadline to move 12,500 civil servants into a so-called mobility program for a year, during which time they will receive reduced wages before their status is reviewed. After a year, each worker will either be moved to another civil service job, if there is one available and they are qualified, or they will be laid off. The new administrative reform minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, a conservative regarded as the most pro-reformist member of the cabinet that was installed last week, plans to ask the troika for a two-month extension of the deadline.

As for promised layoffs in the civil service, Greek officials are likely to point to the closure of the state broadcaster ERT last month as an indication of their commitment. But since the shutdown, which left about 2,700 people jobless, Mr. Samaras has offered to rehire 2,000 of the workers for a transitional broadcast service.

Greek officials have also asked that the creditors agree to a reduction in the 23 percent value-added tax for restaurant meals as a way to help promote tourism. A record 17 million tourists are expected to visit Greece this year.

Troika envoys are also planning to offer some relief to Greece, according to news reports citing the leaked document, with the lenders backing the implementation of tax breaks intended to attract sorely needed investment and some latitude to hire civil servants in crucial areas, like tax collection.

The country’s lagging efforts to privatize state assets are also on the agenda. The sale of the state gambling company OPAP has run into problems, with the Czech-Greek consortium that was the sole bidder for a 33 percent stake in the operation demanding reassurance that OPAP’s contracts were legally sound. Last month, the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom declined to submit an expected bid for the Greek public gas corporation, Depa.

Mr. Samaras has played down the setbacks, focusing instead on a decision by the developers of an Azeri natural gas field to build a pipeline to Europe that would cross Greece. The prime minister hailed the announcement on Friday as marking “the most significant positive economic development regarding our country of the past 10 years.”

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/business/global/creditors-to-determine-whether-to-release-greek-aid.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Agreement Reached on British Press Restrictions

But the disagreements, posturing and nuances that preceded the agreement spilled over into fresh arguments about how the various political groups wished to present it to the public, particularly on the contentious issue of whether new regulations should be underpinned by legislation.

“Statutory underpinning” was a primary recommendation of a voluminous report published in November after an inquiry led by Lord Justice Sir Brian Leveson produced months of exhaustive testimony into the behavior and culture of the British press. The inquiry was called after the hacking scandal reached apeak in July 2011.

The term raised alarms among those cherishing three centuries of broad peacetime freedom for Britain’s newspapers. Prime Minister David Cameron said a law establishing a press watchdog would cross a “Rubicon” toward government control.

Instead, Mr. Cameron proposed a royal charter — a device setting out the rules and responsibilities of major institutions like the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Bank of England. But the opposition Labour Party, supported by the junior partner in Mr. Cameron’s governing coalition, the Liberal Democrats, wanted the reform enshrined in law to strengthen protection for victims of press intrusion.

Harriet Harman, the deputy Labour leader, said an agreement had been struck to introduce a royal charter supported “by a bit of law that says this charter can’t be tampered with by ministers” and could be changed only by a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament.

“It specifically won’t mention this charter, because the idea is that we want to have that effect without it actually mentioning press regulation in law,” she told the BBC.

“I think we have got an agreement which protects the freedom of the press, that is incredibly important in a democracy, but also protects the rights of people not to have their lives turned upside down,” Ms. Harman said in a separate television interview.

Mr. Cameron insisted that the formulation did not amount to direct legislation governing the press.

“It’s not statutory underpinning,” he told reporters. “What it is is simply a clause that says politicians can’t fiddle with this, so it takes it further away from politicians, which is actually, I think, a sensible step.”

He added: “What we have avoided is a press law.”

Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, said: “A free press has nothing to fear from what has been agreed.”

Mr. Cameron had been under pressure to avoid a parliamentary defeat likely to be inflicted by an alliance of Labour, Liberal Democrats and up to 20 rebels within his Conservative Party if the issue had gone to a vote Monday night, as initially scheduled.

Mr. Cameron has said the new regulatory system should empower a new, independent watchdog to impose fines of up to £1 million, or $1.5 million, and oblige newspapers to print prominent corrections for errors and take other measures to protect privacy. Many details remain unclear.

The new regulations will join an array of existing legislation, including some of the world’s most stringent defamation laws, along with rules governing what may be published on matters relating to national security and judicial procedures.

The drive for a new law has been headed by a privacy group called Hacked Off, supported by the actor Hugh Grant and the parents of children whose disappearance and loss became the object of tabloid frenzy. In particular, the case of Milly Dowler, a schoolgirl whose cellphone was hacked after she disappeared and was later found murdered, prompted Mr. Murdoch to close The News of the World, his flagship Sunday tabloid, in July 2011.

Since then, the scandal has led to civil suits, criminal investigations, a parliamentary inquiry and the Leveson hearings. The scrutiny coursed through British public life, exposing hidden relationships among the press, the police and politicians. The affair has cost Mr. Murdoch’s newspapers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Brian Cathcart, a professor of journalism and one of the founders of the Hacked Off campaign, said Monday that the use of a royal charter was a “second best” option, but welcomed the deal and added that “there is a statutory underpinning without doubt.”

The new system “will protect the freedom of the press and at the same time will protect the public from the kinds of abuses that made the Leveson inquiry necessary,” Mr. Cathcart said.

Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/19/world/europe/deadline-looms-for-new-british-press-rules-after-hacking-scandal.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Creditors to Determine Whether to Release Greek Aid

Agreement Reached on British Press Restrictions

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