Looking ahead to the British referendum, on the 23rd of June, regarding the Brexit, the procedures concerning the approval of the second installment of the third Greek programme of 7.5 billion are being completed. On today’s urgent teleconference of the technocrats of the Ministries of Finance (EuroWorking Group), is expected that the final compliance report of the institutions regarding the application of all the prerequisites from Athens, will be examined …Read More
“Brussels Update” contains Briefing Notes on important meetings of the European institutions, as well as post-meeting reports which evaluate the results of these meetings. These texts correspond to the period from March 2013 until June 2016. The editor of this section was originally Nikos Chrysoloras; afterwards Christina Vassilakis took over.
Christina Vasilaki: The timely completion of the review is a matter of political decisions
The Eurogroup of February 11th agreed that the review can be completed within the time frame set by Athens. However, despite the positive messages, it was made clear that the hard, but necessary decisions are of prime importance for the progress of the review, especially concerning the pension reform and the measures which are about to cover the fiscal gap for 2016. In general, according to EU sources there are …Read More
Christina Vasilaki: Τhe latest developments
On Monday 23 November, the Eurogroup confirmed the smooth progress of the recapitalisation process of the Greek banking sector within the predetermined time frame. The Eurozone Finance Ministers agreed, “following the positive assessment” by the European institutions, that “the Greek authorities have successfully implemented the first set of milestones” which are necessary to support the transfer of funds to the Hellenic Financial Stability Facility (HFSF) from the €10 bn. that …Read More
Christina Vasilaki: With an eye to the recapitalisation of the Greek banks and the “thorn” of foreclosures
The Eurogroup meeting on 9 November was held with an eye to the recapitalisation of the Greek banks. A few days after the publication of the “positive” -as they were characterised by the European institutions- results of the stress tests of the four systemic banks, and in the midst of increased interest of private investors, the Eurozone finance ministers opted to maintain the positive spirit of cooperation and to speed …Read More
Christina Vasilaki: Towards evaluating the implementation of the third programme
Towards evaluating the implementation of the third programme The four institutions’ representatives in charge of Greece, who are bound to visit Athens this week, will focus on the review of the package of measures which was passed by the Greek Parliament on Friday. This visit paves the way for a series of actions and decisions agreed upon by the Eurogroup, which shall be implemented by the end of the year …Read More
Christina Vasilaki: The latest developments
In the Euro Summit on Tuesday, July 7, the 18 leaders gave Greece the final ultimatum. The Greek government is called upon to choose between a third memorandum -possibly harsher than the previous two- on the one hand, and the exit of Greece from the Eurozone, on the other. On Wednesday, the Greek government submitted a request concerning the programme in question, whereas it has to table a credible and …Read More
Christina Vasilaki: 48 hours until an agreement is reached
No decisions were reached after the contacts marathon of the Prime Minister and the extraordinary meetings in Brussels on Monday, although the foundations were laid for an agreement within the next 48 hours. The new proposals of the Greek government were accepted by the institutional representatives of the creditors as a basis for discussion; nevertheless, as the heads of both the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, and the IMF, Christine Lagarde, emphasised …Read More
Christina Vasilaki: Eurogroup: progress has been made, but negotiations need to speed up
With a brief press release, the Eurogroup welcomed on Monday the progress made in discussions between the Greek authorities and representatives of the three institutions, while also noting that more time and effort and required in order to reach a conclusion. For his part, the Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, estimated that a final agreement will probably have been reached within the next two weeks, namely before the country’s cash …Read More
Christina Vasilaki: Eurogroup: Countdown to next opportunity for an agreement
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Council of the Eurozone Finance Ministers, referred to the next Eurogroup meeting on May 11 for a renewed attempt to reach an agreement on Greece. The informal Eurogroup in Riga (Latvia) took place amid an extremely tense atmosphere due to the prolonged delay in negotiations, whereas a sentiment of isolation against the Greek Finance Minister was also instigated. Greece’s partners sent no other message to …Read More
Christina Vasilaki: Euro Summit: Realistic compromise for timely restoration of liquidity
While time is running out concerning cash balances, the Greek government returned to Athens after the two-day Euro Summit of March with explicit guidelines on its next moves, whose direct implementation shall result in the immediate resolution of liquidity problems facing the country in the medium term. In the eight-party, mini marathon summit among major stakeholders, which was asked for by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in order to discuss the …Read More