Awwal 08, 1432, Feb 11, 2011, SPA -- A team of European Union and International Monetary Fund (IMF) auditors on Friday said Greece must make 50 billion euros in privatisations by 2015, urging Athens to speed up reforms to meet the targets of a multi-million euro bailout deal, dpa reported. The government of Prime Minister George Papandreou has slashed spending along with pension and public sector pay cuts in austerity measures required to receive the emergency loans totalling 110 billion euros agreed last May in order to save it from bankruptcy. While inspectors approved a new 15 billion euro tranche of aid to the southern Mediterranean country, it warned Athens that its must do more, saying faster structural reforms in tax administration and health care were needed. Greece has already received 38 billion euros in aid. "So far the programme is on track but it will not remain on track without significant, broad-based acceleration of reforms," IMF chief Poul Thomsen told journalists during a press conference. The 15 billion euros in aid still needs to be approved by euro zone finance ministers. In addition, the IMF and EU said Greece will need to make 50 billion euros from state privatisations of state-run loss making companies in 2011-2015, including 15 billion is 2011-2012. "It is essential to increase privatisations to help reduce public debt," said EU mission chief Servaas Deroose. The Greek government has taken extensive measures and structural reforms, such as cutbacks on salaries and pensions, to slash a budget deficit which stood at 15.4 per cent of GDP in late 2009 by six percentage points by the end of 2010. -- SPA
