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EU Commission, Eurogroup end enhanced surveillance for Greece

The European Commission proposed at the Eurogroup meeting on Thursday to end the enhanced surveillance of Greece on 20 August 2022, when this program ends and not to prolong it. The decision was taken “given the successful delivery of the bulk of Greece’s policy commitments.”

A 12-year-long era ends on August 20.

“This, combined with the earlier abolition of capital controls and the full repayment of the IMF loans, would restore conditions of normality in Greece for the first time since 2010,” a Eurogroup statement said following discussion of Greece’s progress with reform implementation and its macro-economic outlook, based on the 14th enhanced surveillance report of the European Commission.

“This means that the monitoring of the economic, fiscal and financial situation of Greece will continue both in the context of the established post-program supervision and in the context of the European Semester. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will continue to monitor Greece’s repayment capacity under the early warning system, in accordance with existing regulations. In addition, significant reforms and investments will also continue to be monitored in the context of the implementation of Greece’s recovery and resilience plan, “the Eurogroup statement added.

Since exiting the bailouts in 2010- 2018, the Greek economy and policy have been monitored under the eurozone’s enhanced surveillance framework while Athens has relied solely on the markets for its financing needs.

The Eurogroup also released the seventh tranche of policy-contingent debt measures, worth 748 million euros.

“The Eurogroup welcomed the assessment by European institutions that the necessary conditions are in place” to confirm the release of the tranche,” the statement added.

“Greece returns to European normality and it is no longer an exception in the Eurozone,” Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Thursday, commenting on the Eurogroup decision to end the enhanced surveillance status for Greece.

“Today is an historic day for Greece. A big national goal is achieved and the country will exit the enhanced surveillance status this summer, ending – along with an early repayment of IMF loans and the lifting of capital limitations – a difficult chapter for Greece, a chapter which opened in 2010. Greece returns to normality and it is no longer an exception in the Eurozone. Today’s decisions by Eurogroup acknowledges the big sacrifices of the Greek society and the current government’s reform agenda in the economic field,” the FinMin added.

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