Greece defiant on pension cuts ahead of key talks with creditors

The question of pension reform in Greece became a pressing issue after the summer of 2015 as a condition of receiving a further bailout from international creditors.

Greece's prime minister Alexis Tsipras stated on 3 January 2016 his government was not going to give in to 'unreasonable' demands as his country prepared for critical negotiations with the international creditors on the issue.

The warning came just days after Athens got 1bn euros on the 22 December 2015 under the terms of its third bailout programme agreed in the summer of 2015.

A draft pension reform plan was submitted to the European Commission and Eurogroup in early January 2016. The plan would cut future benefits, but it had no backing from the political opposition and there was much opposition from within Greece by those who would be affected.

Eurozone officials said it was ambitious and acceptable in its broad architecture, but it was unclear whether it would have the desired fiscal impact because the draft plan lacked some numeric data.

The subject was discussed at the Eurogroup meeting on the 14 January 2016. International creditors were due the following week to visit Athens to monitor adherence to the terms of the bailout programme.

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