“We came to an agreement,” welcomed the Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem after finance ministers of the Eurozone have reached an agreement Wednesday morning. Agreement needed to unlock new loans to Greece and implement “progressive measures” to alleviate the debt of Athens. It took 11 hours of meeting in Brussels between the 19 central bankers of the single currency to achieve it.
“This is something I would not have dreamed of it a month ago (…) This is an important moment in the long Greek program, an important moment for all of us, since last summer, when we had a major crisis of confidence between us, “said Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who is also Dutch Finance Minister, at a press conference. “This is an important moment for Greece after so much time”, welcomed the Greek Minister of Finance, Euclid Tsakalotos.
Third assistance program since 2010
In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, the 19 finance ministers of the euro area have taken a step in implementation of the Athens aid program set up in the summer of 2015. the third since 2010. This new money will allow the Greek government to repay the accumulated unpaid bills and deal with a maturity of approximately 2 2 billion to the European Central Bank (ECB) on 20 July.
Athens officially recorded with the reforms that had been requested to the European creditors have decided to release new loans totaling 10.3 billion euros. A first tranche of EUR 7.5 billion will be disbursed in June and then follow others whose exact amount and date have not been fully detailed.
“The Greek authorities have shown responsablity”, praised the European Commissioner for Economic Affairs, Pierre Moscovici. He mentioned pension reform adopted in early May and the last Sunday vote by the Greek Parliament of a bill providing for automatic correction mechanism in the event of fiscal slippage and additional measures to accelerate privatization and increasing indirect taxes. Against unpopular decisions which had shown more than 10 000 people over the weekend in Athens.
A debt that amounts to 180% of GDP
The eurozone ministers also agreed on a package of measures to alleviate the Greek debt, which stands at around 180% of GDP and is the highest of the entire euro zone. These measures will be implemented “gradually”.
This decision opens the way for participation in the IMF program, “provided that the measures devoted to debt relief make it sustainable,” said the director of the IMF’s European Department Poul Thomsen , who attended the final press conference. “We welcome the fact that everyone now recognizes now that Greek debt is unsustainable,” said Poul Thomsen.
Germany wants “the IMF board”
Berlin, first creditor of Greece, had long been opposed to any promise of relief Greek debt before the end of the third aid program in 2018, or more particularly before the German parliamentary 2017. But Germany also insisted that the IMF participant. She believes that the fund experienced in bailouts, guarantees a certain rigor.
“Without the IMF on board, there is no program,” warned the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, before the start of the meeting in Brussels. “We have different positions, but we do not argue us,” he assured reporters who asked him about a report released Monday by the IMF relief grecque.Le IMF debt had increased pressure on the Europeans on the eve of the meeting by publishing this document, which was called for unconditional relief of this burden.
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