Europeans willing to discuss the Greek debt – Cross

An extraordinary meeting of the finance ministers of the euro area Monday 9 May in Brussels, helped to take note of the reforms adopted by Greece. A clean bill paving the way for the release of a new tranche of aid, and the promise of an agreement on debt relief May 24

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Minister of Finance of Greece Euclid Tsakalotos talks to Jeroen Dijsselbloem President of the Eurogroup, at the extraordinary meeting on 9 May 2016. / John Thys / AFP

“It was a very good Eurogroup for Greece and for Europe “, welcomed the Greek Minister of Finance, Euclid Tsakalotos. Once is not custom, the meeting of finance ministers of the euro area held Monday, May 9 in Brussels has not concluded on increasing tensions between Athens, its European partners and the IMF.

It must be said that the great Greek financier arrived with goodwill gestures pocket. The Hellenic Parliament had indeed voted on the night of Sunday to Monday, two reforms: one concerning the income tax and another on pensions. Two texts including the president of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said they “paved the way for the successful completion of the first assessment of the measures undertaken by Greece” .

& gt; Read: Greece reform its pensions and renegotiating its debt in Brussels

Satisfecit

It took weeks to produce a good report, sine qua non condition for Greece gets the payment of a new tranche of loan of at least 5.4 billion euros, under the third aid package granted to the countries decided in pain in July 2015, for a total amount of 86 billion euros. Now the country has so far received 21.4 billion. Such an envelope is crucial for Athens, which has to repay debt to the European Central Bank for 2.2 billion euros in July, as they come due.

All difficulties are not raised so far. On May 24, the goal will be to reach agreement on a series of additional measures which might be required in Athens in case of non-respect of the goal of a primary budget surplus (before payment of debt interest, Ed) to 3.5% of GDP in 2018.

automatic mechanism

on this point, according to the Prime Minister left Alexis Tsipras, the solution proposed by Greece was accepted by its partners. This is expected, he recalled in a statement issued after the ministerial meeting, “ the creation of an automatic mechanism, activated if the fiscal targets of the program are not achieved.”

Some of the creditors were supporters see Greece take preventative action now. “There has been no request” in that, said Alexis Tsipras. “ In the coming days, the Greek part and institutions will finish with the technical details to reach an agreement” , has he added.

Promise to relief

the other good news to Athens, it is the promise of Europeans an agreement on May 24 on debt relief, amounting to nearly 180% of GDP, is the highest level of the whole euro area

& gt. Read: Are Europeans just with the Greeks

Athens demanded this action, supported by the IMF?. The Washington-based institution has always insisted that to be viable for Greece, the reform program demanded in this country must be accompanied by a lightening its burden. In contrast, Germany, its largest creditor, opposed it.

No haircut

“There will be no haircut (note: restructuring with partial abandonment of debt) “ has however said the French finance minister Michel Sapin Tuesday, May 10, rejecting the hypothesis of a partial cancellation of the amount of Greek debt . Discussions will focus on new development (longer maturities, for example), in addition to those already made. “For the first time, welcomed Alexis Tsipras the steps necessary for debt relief are set and define a specific process in the short, medium and long term” .

Marie Dancer