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Athens - Senior EU and IMF officials make a crucial inspection visit from Wednesday to press Greece to do more to clean up its finances, as thousands of workers walk off the job to protest against austerity.
One year into the EU/IMF bailout that saved it from bankruptcy, the debt-choked country is back in the spotlight amid growing speculation it will have to impose losses on private bondholders.
Euro zone officials including German Chancellor Angela Merkel have said the review of Greece's progress is key to determining whether it can be given better terms on the current €110bn bailout, or additional aid, to avoid a debt restructuring.
A euro zone source in Brussels said Greece needed to show credible progress on meeting agreed targets for fiscal consolidation and privatisation of state assets before further emergency funding could be considered.
"They need to show to the EU and the IMF they can deliver on the existing programme. To show that, there probably has to be an announcement of additional measures," the source said.
The EU and IMF mission chiefs will be in town for about a week from Wednesday, after experts started the audit in early May. Officials said they would focus on a 2011-2015 fiscal plan and on progress in raising €50bn from privatisations by 2015.
The visit will assess whether Greece's debt is sustainable and whether it has made enough progress on fiscal reforms to receive a fifth, €12bn tranche of aid under the existing bailout.
One year into the EU/IMF bailout that saved it from bankruptcy, the debt-choked country is back in the spotlight amid growing speculation it will have to impose losses on private bondholders.
Euro zone officials including German Chancellor Angela Merkel have said the review of Greece's progress is key to determining whether it can be given better terms on the current €110bn bailout, or additional aid, to avoid a debt restructuring.
A euro zone source in Brussels said Greece needed to show credible progress on meeting agreed targets for fiscal consolidation and privatisation of state assets before further emergency funding could be considered.
"They need to show to the EU and the IMF they can deliver on the existing programme. To show that, there probably has to be an announcement of additional measures," the source said.
The EU and IMF mission chiefs will be in town for about a week from Wednesday, after experts started the audit in early May. Officials said they would focus on a 2011-2015 fiscal plan and on progress in raising €50bn from privatisations by 2015.
The visit will assess whether Greece's debt is sustainable and whether it has made enough progress on fiscal reforms to receive a fifth, €12bn tranche of aid under the existing bailout.
