The first Eurogroup meeting following the formation of the new Greek government resulted in an agreement on the next steps that must be followed for additional bailout funds to be poured into Greece.
According to Greek media reports, Greece was the topic of discussion for approximately 20 minutes, even though the whole meeting lasted for three and a half hours.
Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem tweeted that the Eurozone ministers agreed on the reforms Greece must adopt for the release of the two billion euros by mid-October.
These three billion euros are the last of the first 26 billion euro installment Greece and creditors had agreed to as part of the 86 billion euro three year cash-for-reforms bailout deal.
“The next set of milestones to unlock the final one billion will have to be worked on with great urgency and agreed later in October. We asked the institutions and the Greek authorities to complete the work as hard as possible to be able to conclude the first review as fast as possible,” he said in a press conference following the meeting.
Dijsselbloem noted that the review completion hinges on both the aforementioned milestones’ implementation and also “clarification” on the pension system’s reform as well as the on the country’s financial sector governance.
The Eurogroup president added that the European Central Bank is assessing the state of the Greek banks and noted that the recapitalization of Greek banks will take place sometime from November to December.
The Dutch Finance Minister also proclaimed via twitter that an additional Eurogroup will be held on November 23.
“Hard Work”
Prior to Monday’s Eurogroup, Dijsselbloem had already warned that there is a lot of work to be done by Greece if it is to achieve its goals, something which he reiterated in a press conference later in the day.
“It is in Greece’s interest to implement the agreements as fast as possible so that the process both for the recapitalization of the banks and for the discussion of debt easing can move forward,” he said after a meeting he had with Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos prior to the Eurogroup.
Earlier in the day, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin had also noted that Greece must proceed with the fulfilment of the agreements it made with creditors if a potential Greek debt easing is to be discussed in the future.
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