For Greece the Eurogroup meeting ended on Monday with the wish to catch up at a later point. “See you in September”, the Eurogroup ministers told their Greek counterpart Yiannis Stournaras. Spain was high on the agenda on Monday, and the Troika had not concluded yet its inspections on the Greek progress or failure to meet its bailout-programme obligations and targets.
“EZ finance ministers will discuss at length the Greek programme in September,” Eurogroup head Jean Claude Juncker told reporters at a press conference.
Juncker revealed further that Greek Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras “did not make any requests.” – even though Nea Dimocratia heralded in its elections campaign that the re-negotiation of the bailout programme would be a priority. Even though there was talk in Greece that Athens would request a two year extension period in order to reach its deficit targets of 3%.
Stournaras presented the fiscal situation of Greece and the measures that will be implemented first: wages cuts for special wages groups in the public sector and privatizations. He reiterated the government΄s commitment to stick to fiscal consolidation and “take the necessary measures to get the program back on track” Juncker said.
As for the E3.2 billion worth of Greek bonds that expire on August 20, Juncker appeared confident that a solution will be found.
“There is no need to worry about Greece΄s obligations” he said, without giving specific details, economic news portal Capital.gr reported.
So it was Stournaras first in a Eurogroup meeting, a kind of “to know us better” and “be in touch”… as the Troika has not concluded its findings yet and Greece wasn’t able to put some demands on the table. Not bad as a starting strategy…
Schaeuble Supports Stournaras
Meanwhile, Greek media report that German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble expressed his support to Stournaras during the Eurogroup meeting.
“Be assured of my support in this effort. I am looking forward to a constructive cooperation,” Schaeuble reportedly told Stournaras
The German finance minister also noted that the present situation in the European , particularly in the eurozone, requires joint efforts to secure stability and that Greece has an important role to play in these developments, And that Greece took a first step in this direction by quickly forming a coalition government.
