The eurozone’s bailout fund has suspended Greece’s short-term debt relief.<br /><br /> Those measures are intended to cut Athens’ public debt, but the European Stability Mechanism said it had put them on hold after the government announced plans to make a one-off payout to pensioners in December without first clearing it with the ESM.<br /><br /> Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras defended the move saying: “Everything the Greek government does is within the framework of the agreement with the institutions. Both Greece and its lenders have to adhere to what has been agreed.” <br /><br /> He has justified it by saying Greece now has a primary budget surplus – meaning it is bringing in more in taxes than it spends, before the repayments and interest on its massive debts. <br /><br /> Tsipras has called the planned 617 million euros in one-off pre-Christmas benefits for low-income pensioners “a social redistribution” adding “it is the least we can do for those who, since 2010, have suffered successive reductions in their pensions and a subsequent deterioration of their living conditions.”<br /><br /> Greece has been locked in on-off battles with its creditors for years, and analysts said the suspension of the debt relief measures was likely to be posturing in lengthy discussions.<br /><br /> “This is just a way for the ESM and the Troika to make sure the Greeks comply with everything they have to do,” Natixis strategist Cyril Regnat said.<br />
