ATHENS: Greece pushed ahead with talks on a new rescue loan Tuesday, but its government came under increasing pressure over claims it had a top-secret plan to prepare for a euro exit that involved accessing citizens’ personal tax data.
The talks in Athens aim to thrash out the terms of the deal — worth about 85 billion euros ($94 billion) over three years — before Aug. 20, when Greece must make a debt payment that it cannot afford without new loans.,A European Commission spokeswoman, Mina Andreeva, said the creditors’ representatives “are working hard to conclude the talks as soon as possible,” and cooperation with the Greek side “works smoothly.”
It will be the country’s third bailout in more than five years. So far, Greece has received about 240 billion euros from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. In return, it was forced to implement painful spending cuts, tax increases, and wide-ranging market reforms. The austerity deepened a sharp recession, and caused unemployment to swell to a peacetime record.
