Eurogroup to discuss EU Commission’s first ‘enhanced surveillance’ report on Greece
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
BRUSSELS (ANA/C.Vasilaki) – The first European Commission’s first “enhanced surveillance” report on Greece’s will be one of the topics to be discussed at the Eurogroup on Monday, according to a senior eurozone official.
According to the same sources, this will not be a detailed discussion as the Commission’s next report at the beginning of next year will be of greater importance for the Eurogroup, which will use it to decide the return the profits from the Greek bonds (ANFAs και SMPs) provided that Greece continues the reforms. “This will be assessed in February,” the source noted.
Regarding the draft budget for 2019, the same official said that it will not be discussed as Greece is among the countries whose draft budgets have been considered “compatible” with eurozone rules. In any case, the source said that the finance ministers will mainly deal with the draft budgets of the member states with problems and will draft an announcement for each country separately.
The Eurogroup on Monday is expected to mainly focus on the proposals for deepening the eurozone, in an inclusive format with the participation of all 27 EU finance ministers as it is the last Eurogroup before the December summit, when decisions are expected to be taken.
The official said that the changes expected to be agreed upon “may not be what some wanted a year ago, but will exceed the expectations of the most pessimistic.”
In particular, the finance ministers are expected to agree on upgrading the European Stability Mechanism and the issue of financing the Single Resolution Fund. As regards the proposed European Deposit Insurance Scheme, the official stated that the goal is that this should remain at the forefront over the next six months, however, no roadmap is expected to be agreed as proposed.
The same source noted that there are also problems in the debate on mechanisms to ensure the sustainability of public debt of member-states, as there are different views, while not much progress is expected on the issue of a separate budget for the eurozone.
Source: AMNA