Greece Agrees to Tighten Belt Again in Return for Further Bailout Funds -
By NIKI KITSANTONISMAY 2, 2017
ATHENS — Greece and its international creditors said on Tuesday
that they had reached a preliminary deal allowing the country to receive crucial bailout payments in exchange for promises to raise taxes and to further cut pensions and social spending.
If the measures are enacted, eurozone finance ministers — collectively known as the Eurogroup — are expected
to approve the disbursement of bailout funds for Athens to make a debt payment that is due in July.
Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, said in a statement that the deal was “a very positive development.”
“It is time to turn the page on this long and difficult austerity chapter for the Greek people,” he said.
As part of the deal announced on Tuesday, Athens agreed to raise the equivalent of 2 percent of gross domestic product by cutting pensions further in 2019,
and increasing tax receipts by reducing the income threshold at which taxes must be paid.