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The government has come to agreement with creditors, having found a happy medium regarding the most troublesome issue, namely the non-performing loans. This opens the way to the granting of the 1 billion euro tranche and to the first evaluation.

The issue of bad loans is actually divided into two stages. The first will allow the sale of non-performing loans that are burdening large companies as well as mortgage loans that are not related to the main housing.

The sale of other categories of bad loans, such as consumer loans, mortgage loans linked to the main housing as well as the loans due by small and medium-sized companies is frozen until 15 February. Thus, the final decisions will be postponed to the key negotiations on the first evaluation, which will start in January.

Minister of Economy George Stathakis states he is very pleased with the agreement.
As for the new Privatisation Agency, Minister of Finance Efklidis Tsakalotos notes that the amount of the funds to be collected, which is the target set, is not important, thus avoiding taking a position on the reduction of the initial target of 50 billion euro.

According to Tsakalotos, the new super agency will absorb the current Privatisation Agency and there will be many options for obtaining privatisation revenues - from state companies, real estate and other state assets.

As for the new single payroll table of civil servants, Tsakalotos explains that public sector salaries will not be reduced.

The parties reached an agreement on the privatisation of the independent operator of electricity transmission on Thursday. It will be separated from the state electricity company DEI, the state will retain 51% equity, 20% will be sold to a strategic investor and the remaining 29% will be privatised.

The next step is for the parliament to vote on the bill with the measures on Tuesday.

A conference meeting of Euroworking Group will follow on Wednesday, which will discuss the granting of the 1 billion euro tranche.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is sending messages inside and outside the country with his article in the Editors’ Newspaper. According to Tsipras, the ultimate goal of the government is "to finally take Greece out from the grip of austerity."

He is attacking Wolfgang Schäuble again, stating that "the negotiations over the past seven months and the referendum have exposed the democratic deficit in Europe and have uncovered the dogmatists of the austerity regime."

With regard to the national front, Tsipras is speaking about Popular Unity, pointing out, "Neither blind clashes nor the return to the opposition, nor the voluntary withdrawal from governmental responsibilities is a left strategy."

"The combination of austerity with xenophobia, reinforced by the terrorist attacks, is creating an environment for the extreme right in Europe to become stronger," the Prime Minister wrote, referring to the first round of local elections in France, after which Marine Le Pen is holding the lead. Tsipras is calling fools those who consider the left to be Europe’s enemy and not the far right.

Regarding the refugee issue, the Prime Minister is stressing that Greece is showing humanity and solidarity, keeping European values ​​alive.

"We will create the future (...), it will not come by itself if we do not do something about it," states the Greek Prime Minister.