Greece looks to debt relief in EU-IMF talks

ATHENS, Aug 31 (AFP): A delegation of senior Greek ministers heads into meetings in Paris with EU-IMF creditors on Tuesday hoping to win a direly-needed new round of debt relief to propel economic recovery.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras's government expects creditors -- the so-called troika of the European Union, European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund -- to reward Greece's recent reform achievements with a concrete pledge to reduce payments on its massive debt.

Despite a major reduction in 2012, Europe's statistics agency Eurostat estimates the country's debt in 2013 exceeded 318 billion euros ($420 billion), or 175.1 per cent of economic output, up from 304 billion, or 157.2 per cent, a year earlier.

Much of the debt is held by European institutions, and Greece says alleviation could come through lower interest rates or longer maturities.

In Paris, Greece's ministers of finance, development, labour, justice and administrative reform will attend what is being billed as preparatory talks ahead of a formal review of the country's loans.

Excruciating reforms carried out by Samaras' conservative government seem to be paying off, at least according to macroeconomic indicators, for Greece.

Last year it registered a primary surplus, and in April made its first medium-term bond sale since the start of the Greek crisis in 2010.