Greece government accelerating privatization

With the arrival of the troika in Athens scheduled for July 24, Greece's government is preparing a bill to speed up a privatization program, according to the Athens daily newspaper Kathimerini. The bill, which should be approved by the end of August, will reportedly earn several billion euros for the troubled Greek government. But first, certain obstacles to privatization must be removed, including a current law that establishes the percentage of participation of the state in some private and state-owned enterprises. The so-called troika includes the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, and the European Central Bank and is involved in the implementation of Greece's anti-crisis economic reforms. The Greek Finance Ministry needs to cut 11.6 billion euros by the end of 2014, possibly by cutting public spending but without further reducing salaries and pensions. Meanwhile, the Greek government is considering the closure or merger of state agencies that are considered unnecessary. According to the minister for the administrative reforms, Antonis Manitakis, the first closures or mergers of government agencies should occur in the next few days. Eventually, as many as 200 agencies could be affected, according to the ministry which says the plan is to do this without cutting staff. Meanwhile, the chief executive of Greece's privatisation agency, Costas Mitropoulos, has resigned, according to reports.