



Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Wednesday he discussed an “ambitious reform agenda” with OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria, as well as an “agreement at a political level,” while he noted that he does not expect a deal at Thursday’s Eurogroup.

“OECD is a great ally in the planning of our reform program but also in its implementation and supervision,” Varoufakis told journalists after his meeting with Gurria in Paris and explained that this program is completely separate from the ongoing talks and negotiations with Greece’s creditors “but it is a part of the government’s work.”

“I hope the institutions take this reform agenda into account, which has been devised by Greece and that Greek people accept it positively, in contrast with other agendas that gave the word reform a bad name,” he said.

Asked by journalists if he plans to present this agenda at Thursday’s Eurogroup in Luxembourg, he said the agendas in these meetings are prepared in advance and there is no room for more extensive or detailed discussions.

“Tomorrow we will present what we consider to be our political and ethical duty to reach an agreement very soon,” said the Greek Finance Minister.

Earlier, responding to questions on how he views a document sent to Parliament by Bank of Greece (BoG) Governor Yannis Stournaras, he said neither the government, nor a country’s central bank should interfere in each other’s work.

“All I have to say is that in Europe we have a tradition of Central Bank independence. Our government respects it completely but independence goes both ways: politicians do not intervene in the work of central banks and central bankers do not intervene in the work of politicians. I hope all sides respect this simple principle,” he added.

Following the meeting between Varoufakis and Gurria, OECD published the following press release:

“OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria and the Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis met this afternoon to discuss Greece’s request to the OECD for support in the design and subsequent implementation of a series of reforms that the Greek government is planning to introduce in different policy areas.”

“Secretary General Gurria and Minister Varoufakis agreed to focus this collaboration in the areas of product market reforms (wholesale trade, media markets, construction, banking and one-stop shopping for more efficient services), labor market reforms, pensions, anti-corruption and public procurement. They also agreed on the next steps and timeline of this collaboration, including help with the implementation and monitoring of these reforms.”

(source: ana-mpa)



