Greece, creditors hold 1st round of post-bailout talks

ATHENS, Greece – Greece and its creditors have held a first round of talks since the completion of the country’s eight-year bailout program last month.

The European Stability Mechanism said the four-day talks that ended Friday focused on the course of pledged reforms and savings. Greece’s draft 2019 budget, to be submitted to the European Commission by Oct. 15, was part of the review.

It said a report on Greece’s post-bailout progress will be issued in November.

Despite the end of its bailouts, Greece remains under scrutiny from its creditors, who will carry out quarterly reviews. If the reviews are positive, Athens will receive, in installments, some 4.8 billion euros in profits from Greek bonds held by European creditors.

Greek officials said Friday they requested the scrapping of pension cuts set to kick in next year.