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"Arithmetic of debt is inexorable," as stated by the coordinator of the Parliamentary Budget Office, Professor Panagiotis Liargovas, according to whom "the rescheduling of Greek government debt would be imposed by the circumstances."

In a television interview he warned, "If the Gordian knot of debt is not untied, it will hang over Greece like the Sword of Damocles," and recommended that the government take measures to reduce this risk.

"Measures to reduce the burden of interest rates could be taken as well. This can be achieved either by reducing them or by extending the term of repayment. However, this is not enough. We need to start paying the principal," Liargovas added.

"Whatever the extension of the term of repayment achieved by us the debt is so huge that it will discourage any initiative on the part of investors... So, the circumstances will bring to the fore the issue of its restructuring."

According to the expert, different measures could be taken, including the reduction of both the payments and the principal of the debt. He admits that the issue is delicate, as a potential debt restructuring would affect mostly foreign investors, adding that this is a matter of negotiation and that a solution could be reached with the cooperation of the euro area state partners.

In connection with the budget gap for 2014, Liargovas stated that Greece would need additional external financing and a new loan agreement. He pointed out that the negotiations between the government and the lenders would determine if this would mean new budget cuts.

The comments in the report of the Parliamentary Budget Office, entitled "Public debt at the end of the "Memorandum" are in the same vein. The document recalls that the current loan agreement and the terms included in the Memorandum will expire in 2014. From the second half of next year onwards the state resources will not be sufficient to cover the payments of the interests on the loans. That is, the primary surplus will not be sufficient to pay the interest. Officially, the difference in the budget is calculated on the basis of the current adjustment. If it changes due to increased social spending, for example, then the difference and the financing needs will increase. The same applies if there is a shortage of tax revenues.

The report states that the forecast of the International Monetary Fund for the end of 2014 is in the range of 4.4 billion euro plus another 6.5 billion euro in 2015. That is a total of 11 billion euro whereas the Greek government believes that this amount will be lower, as it hopes to achieve a primary surplus of 2.83 billion euro.

According to parliamentary experts, whatever the difference is, it would have to be covered "and this could happen by obtaining a new loan, by reducing the interest rates or by a combination of both." At the same time, the government insists that it will not resort to further budget cuts.

Since Greece cannot easily borrow from financial markets, the Office argues that the most probable solution under today's conditions is "reaching a new agreement on a new financial aid or using other means such as reducing the interest rates, etc. The position of the Eurogroup is the same. Moreover, Greece is considering covering part of the budget gap in other ways, one of which is by seeking funding from the capital markets. The Troika is also directing the government to this decision, taking into account the opinion of its members."

However, parliamentary experts warn, "A new loan agreement in order to cover the budget gap will provide only a temporary solution to the problem, for about 1-2 years, and will delay the resolving of the main issue with the amount of the state debt."

The Parliamentary Budget Office based its proposal on the opinion that "the debt will not be reduced and will not become sustainable until 2020 or 2022 only by achieving budget surpluses and by privatization if it is not restructured (including another haircut) or if other alleviations such as the extension of the term of payment are not enforced."

According to the report, "It is not realistic to assume that Greece will be able to achieve a combination of rapid economic growth and budget surpluses, so that it will be able to service its debt and reduce it to sustainable levels. The option of refinancing from capital markets on reasonable terms implies a similar development as well."

The final part of the report presents alternatives for debt reduction, including reduction of interest rates and extension of the term of payment, issuance of Eurobonds and cancellation of part of the obligations.