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Eurogroup: Greece satisfied 'milestones' for February
The Eurogroup, in a statement issued on Monday evening on Greece, expressed satisfaction over the fulfilment of the "necessary milestones" in February, calling on the Greek authorities in parallel to fully implement what has been agreed for the approval of the March tranche, amounting to 2.8 billion euros.
Following the conclusion of the Eurogroup's sessions, Economy Commissioner Olli Rehn referred to the economic predictions that the Commission adopted recently, according to which growth will return to Greece gradually in early 2014.
As regards the withdrawals from the public sector, Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said that "the purpose is for us to have a smaller and more effective public sector". He also said that the shrinkage of the pubic sector is already being achieved since data so far on withdrawals in 2011 and 2012 show that the target for the 2010-2015 period will be exceeded.
Asked about what the necessary actions are for the approval of the March tranche, Stournaras replied that they are two: the reduction of the prices of medicines and the reforming of public administration.
Eurogroup statement on Greece:
The Eurogroup notes with satisfaction that the MoU milestone for February, agreed between Greece and the Troika, has been achieved. In particular, the medium term fiscal strategy has been updated, introducing 3-year expenditure ceilings for lineministries and the health sector.
Moreover, the Eurogroup welcomes that, going beyond the requirements of the milestone, Greece also prepared monthly targets for the largest state-owned enterprises (SOEs) with a view to later extending them to all SOEs. This step further safeguards the delivery of fiscal commitments and represents a sign of strong programme ownership.
Against this background, the Eurogroup welcomes the disbursement by the EFSF of EUR 2.8 bn under the second economic adjustment programme that has taken place on that basis.
The Eurogroup calls on the Greek authorities to keep the reform momentum and, in particular, to fully implement the agreed milestones for March, as a precondition for the disbursement of a further sub-tranche of EUR 2.8 bn under the second instalment.
