Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras at the rostrum of parliament in Athens December 7, 2014 (AFP / File / Angelos Tzortzinis)
The eurozone decided on Monday to extend by two months the aid program currently enjoyed by Greece, which expires on December 31, as the troika of creditors is not able to conclude its review of the country’s accounts.
“The Eurogroup is willing to grant Greece a technical two-month extension of its current aid program,” said finance ministers to ‘Following a meeting in Brussels. The decision must be approved by the parliaments of several Member States.
“Some progress has been made by the Greek authorities since our last meeting in November (…) but they are not sufficient to conclude soon now or before the end of the ongoing review “of the troika, said the president of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
The extension of the” will to conclude the review and paves the way for payment of the tranche of 1.8 billion euros, “he said at a press conference. “Two months, it seems good, because it is long enough to conclude the review, but not too much,” added Mr. Dijsselbloem, as rumors evoked an extension of six months.
Troika and the Greek authorities have many disagreements that particular prevent the payment of last tranche of € 1.8 billion.
The Greek Parliament passed in the night from Sunday to Monday Budget 2015 but its creditors believe that Greece will need two to three billion euros in additional revenue in 2015 to achieve its economic forecast, which is disputed by Athens.
Once the current program finished The euro area is considering a precautionary credit line to Greece, via its support fund (ESM), which would reassure markets. Precaution line would be subject to conditions eased compared to current aid program, the Troika is pushing for new austerity measures.
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