No time to waste for Greece's economic recovery: European Commission VP

Greece was on the right path to economic recovery but there is no time to waste, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday during a two-day visit to Athens for talks with the government on the pending issues ahead of a crucial bailout review.

In statements to the press following a first series of meetings with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and other officials, Dombronvskis underlined the Commission's willingness to further support Greece in achieving its goals to the benefit of the entire EU, as well as the necessity to push ahead with an "ambitious program" of reforms with no more delays.

"There is no time to lose. We need to work immediately to modernize the Greek state and economy," the European official said.

He pointed to the latest agreement Athens reached with the Commission for the latter's further technical support to the implementation of the Greek program, acknowledging that progress has been made by Greece recently.

The European Commission will provide know how to Athens in key issues such as the cracking down of tax evasion and corruption and the creation of a more business friendly environment for investments.

On the Greek government's part, Tsipras expressed once again Greece's gratitude to European partners for the support.

"You have understood the situation in Greece," he said, welcoming Dombronvkis at his office.

Tsakalotos noted both sides' willingness to bridge diverging views in issues that need to be resolved for the conclusion of a positive first assessment of the bailout in coming weeks to unlock further international loans to the debt laden country.

"Both sides expressed the opinion that an honest compromise must be found," Tsakalotos said, referring for example to the non-performing loans that account for about four out of ten loans.

Lenders are pushing for the implementation of strict criteria in regards to the protection of homes from foreclosures, while Athens prefers a legal framework that protects more homeowners from primary residence auctions.

On the agenda of discussions on Monday was also the issue of the recapitalization of Greece's banking system that is expected to be concluded after the bailout review.

The successful conclusion of the review is a precondition to clear the way for the recapitalization and the start of talks with creditors on a debt relief to make the Greek debt load sustainable.

Time is pressing. If the new recapitalization has not finished by the end of this year, under the timetable, on Jan. 1 depositors with savings of over 100,000 euros (about 110,000 U.S. dollars) face the prospect of losses.

Athens' Left-led government promised to swiftly implement the new round of painful austerity and reform requirements under the third bailout deal reached this summer to keep the country afloat and in the euro zone.

A first multi-bill including some of the demanded policies was approved by the Greek parliament two weeks ago and a second bill was scheduled to be put to vote by mid- November, but the pace of progress has not fully satisfied creditors. Endit