Reference Text
Time Left10:00
Greek
Prime
Minister
Alexis
Tsipras
chose
Ithaca,
home
to
Odysseus,
the
protagonist
of
Homer's
epic,
and
the
place
to
which
he
returns
after
a
decade
of
being
lost
at
sea,
to
announce
the
end
of
Greece's
Odyssey>.
The
country
has
exited
its
third
and
final
bailout
since
2010,
having
borrowed
€289
billion
($330
billion)
from
a
'troika'
of
lenders,
the
IMF,
the
European
Commission
and
the
European
Central
Bank,
over
a
period
of
eight
years
in
order
to
retrieve
itself
from
the
brink
of
financial
collapse.
In
return,
Greece
undertook
structural
reforms,
submitting
itself
to
a
controversial
and
painful
austerity
programme.
The
economy
shrunk
by
a
quarter,
unemployment
was
at
28%
(50%
for
those
under
25
years
of
age),
government
spending
was
slashed
as
were
salaries
and
pensions,
hundreds
of
thousands
of
Greeks
emigrated
and
a
third
of
the
country
fell
into
poverty.
Yet
the
path
is
far
from
clear
and
the
road
is
long.
Greece
owes
a
staggering
180%
of
GDP
in
debt.
Also,
as
part
of
the
bailout
conditions
Greece
will
need
to
maintain
a
3.5%
primary
surplus
(a
budget
surplus
prior
to
interest
payments)
until
2022
and
then
around
2%
until
2060.
The
IMF
has
warned
that
such
budget
surpluses
are
rare.
It
is
especially
challenging
for
a
country
that
has
just
emerged
from
a
decade
of
economic
strife
and
austerity
and
has
an
ageing
population.
There
are
concerns
that
they
will
constrain
Greece's
ability
to
grow
and
pay
off
its
debt.
While
several
of
the
required
reforms
were
initiated
during
the
bailout
period,
a
lot
remains
to
be
done.
This
includes
greater
flexibility
in
the
labour
market,
simplified
licensing
processes
for
companies
and
banking
reforms
to
help
clean
up
the
non-performing
assets
on
banks'
balance
sheets
(individuals
and
companies
that
could
not
pay
back
loans);
almost
half
of
all
outstanding
loans
of
banks
are
now
NPAs.
The
tax
system
will
have
to
be
reorganised
so
the
tax
base
is
widened
and
the
bulk
of
the
tax
burden
does
not
fall
on
the
middle
class.
Greece's
Eurozone
creditors
agreed
in
June
to
a
softening
of
debt
repayment
terms,
including
extended
maturity
periods,
delayed
interest
payments
and
buffer
funds
to
stabilise
and
ease
the
country's
re-entry
into
financial
markets.
Yet,
the
IMF,
based
on
its
assessment
of
risks
and
bleaker
longer-term
growth
projections
that
differ
significantly
from
the
European
Commission's
projections,
has
cautioned
that
Greece
is
at
risk
of
getting
stuck
in
a
debt
trap
with
onerous
surplus
conditions
having
to
be
maintained.
These
conditions
imply
restraints
on
government
spending
programmes
that
could,
for
instance,
be
used
to
stimulate
growth.
The
country's
creditors
need
to
consider
reducing
the
mountain
of
debt,
so
Greece
stands
a
solid
chance