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The European Commission said “good progress” was made in a teleconference between Athens and negotiators from the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, which was aimed at reaching an agreement over a set of measures to allow the release of the next bail-out tranche to Greece.
The Greek finance ministry said in a statement that satisfactory progress had been made. It added that technical discussions concerning the 2011 and 2012 budgets, as well as the 2013-2014 period, would continue in Athens in coming days. Greece does not face an imminent risk of default since it has no major bond redemptions due in coming weeks, but may have difficulties paying full salaries to civil servants and pensions if it does not get the €8 billion tranche. It is estimated the state will run out of money around mid-October. It is noted it already owes more than €6 billion to private companies and individuals.
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