The euro zone will not give the green light for bailout funds to Greece in September at the Bratislava Eurogroup on Friday, according to German financial newspaper Handelsblatt Global.
The report cites European Commission officials who argue that the reason the sub-tranche of 2.8 billion euros to Greece will not be disbursed in September is because Athens has implemented only two of the 15 political reforms required for the release of the funds.
The officials also stress that the privatization of state assets is moving at a very slow pace.
The Handelsblatt Global report says that the Eurogroup has approved a tranche of 10.3 billion euros to Greece in May. Athens has received 7.5 billion euros and the remaining 2.8 billion would be disbursed in September, provided that the Greek government had implemented certain reforms agreed.
According to the officials, in the meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Bratislava only the progress of Greece’s bailout program will be discussed. This is contrary to the belief on the Greek side that the issue of debt relief would be discussed as well.
The comment came after a statement by the head of the European Stability Mechanism, Klaus Regling, who said that Greece could secure short term debt relief measures if the reforms were implemented. Yet, he said, the reforms agreed have not been implemented yet.
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
