Greece has met all prior actions, Dijsselbloem says
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The president of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem on Tuesday said he believed that the ESM will approve the disbursement of the 7.5 billion euro loan tranche as Greece has met all the prior actions.
Dijsselbloem was speaking at the economic and monetary committee of the European Parliament in Brussels.
In reply to a question by SYRIZA MEP Dimitris Papadimoulis, Dijsselbloem underlined that Greece and its lenders have entered a different phase. Comparing the current situation to the situation last summer, the president of the Eurogroup said that last year the trust between Greece and its creditors was hurt, but since then things have changed a lot. “The climate is different; we work constructively. Of course differences exist, but we continue to work constructively,” he said.
He also said that the roadmap for debt relief has already been drafted . As he said, there are measures that can be taken earlier, but the debate on the Greek debt will be completed after the end of the Greek programme. He added that more can be done on the debt after 2018.
Finally, he admitted that the target of 3.5 percent of GDP surplus after 2018 is not realistic and may be lowered in the following years. He cleared out, however, that the issue of the primary surplus will not be raised at a Eurogroup level now, but towards the end of the year.
ANA-MPA, Athens