Greece still faces ‘very large risks’ to bailout

The report from the European Commission and the European Central Bank details the findings of the ‘troika’ of the EC, ECB and the International Monetary Fund on Athens’ efforts to meet targets under its latest rescue package.

The report formally confirmed that Greece deserved further aid under the 130-billion-euro bailout, and a Greek finance ministry source said Athens had received a long-delayed instalment of over 34 billion euros in aid yesterday.

But the lenders warned Athens still risked falling short on its commitments. “The key risks concern the overall policy implementation, given that the coalition supporting the government appears fragile and some components of the programme face political resistance, despite the determination of the government,” the report said.

“Important budgetary measures are likely to be challenged in courts, which could lead to the need to fill a fiscal gap emerging as a consequence.”

Greece, which has been bailed out twice by the EU and IMF since the debt crisis erupted, has a long history of missed targets and failure to meet promises to overhaul its bloated state sector and liberalise its recession-hit economy.

A separate report by an EU task force said by the end of October Greece had completed only 88 of the targeted 300 audits of large tax payers and 467 of 1,300 audits of high-wealth individuals.