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BRUSSELS All analysis made by international lenders of Greece’s fiscal adjustment path are done on the assumption that Athens will have two extra years to reach its primary surplus target, but there is no official decision yet, a senior EU official said. “There is no decision on anything yet, but I have reason to believe that the troika (of lenders) has been producing all of its reports and fiscal analyses and adjustment paths on the basis of an additional two years to reach a primary surplus of 4.5 percent of GDP,” the official said on Friday. Greece was to reach [...]

LUXEMBOURG International lenders are considering giving Greece two more years to reach its budget deficit reduction targets, and the extra time could be financed without more money from the euro zone, Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said. “It is now on the table by all members of the troika,” Stournaras told reporters of the 2-year extension. “All the exercises that we are doing now they assume that the program will last up to 2016, that … 4.5 percent of GDP (for the budget deficit) will be achieved in 2016 rather than in 2014,” he said . “The implicit assumption is [...]

Changing of the Guard ceremony takes place in front of the Greek Parliament building on June 18. Greece is seeking a two-year extension of its latest austerity programme Aimed at improving the country’s debt sustainability and prospects for a return to growthIt comes as Greece struggles to find another €11.5bn of spending cuts (Financial Times) — Greece is seeking a two-year extension of its latest austerity programme aimed at improving the country’s debt sustainability and prospects for a return to growth, according to a document obtained by the Financial Times.Antonis Samaras, the centre-right prime minister, is expected to outline the [...]