Venizelos Says Greece, Troika in Final Stage of Talks on Cuts

Evangelos Venizelos, leader of the Pasok party which supports Greece’s coalition government, said negotiations with international creditors on an 11.5 billion- euro package of spending cuts required in exchange for bailout funds are in their final stage.

“The talks haven’t closed because the troika hasn’t accepted the total package of proposed measures so now we need to make counterproposals,” Venizelos said in live comments on state-run NET TV after a meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Athens today.

Venizelos said Pasok continues to support the three party coalition government and once final decisions are taken on the budget cuts for 2013 and 2014 the next tranche of bailout funds will be immediately released to Greece and talks on a two-year extension of the program and debt reduction will begin with European Union officials.

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