Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is scheduled to meet this afternoon with the Troika to agree on further steps in structural reform as the Hellenic Republic moves for lender approval on the next bailout tranche.

Samaras is hoping to put the final touches on an agreement with the representatives from the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank to get the green light on receipt of the next €2.8bn installment of financial assistance before he heads off to Brussels with Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras for the European Union (EU) summit which begins on Thursday.

One of the major issues currently on the docket relates to cutting down the civil service workforce.

Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported that the evaluation of ministry staff should be completed in the coming days. The daily said that 700 state bodies are expected to be abolished or merged by the end of April which would place approximately 13,000 public employees into a mobility scheme. Expectations are that any lay-offs will not actually take place until next year.

Stournaras said yesterday that Greece has already covered two-thirds of the target for fiscal adjustment and has gone three quarters of the distance for completing the goal for competitiveness. "Greece has paid a very high price in terms of austerity... But I think the worst is behind us and we can look at the future with hope," he said.

As proof of his country's progress, he commented that nobody is talking about a "Grexit" (Greece leaving the euro) anymore and "even economists who advocated a Grexit have apologised for it".

JM

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