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 …
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Greece will negotiate fiscal targets for 2021 onward, says Finance Minister
Greece will negotiate fiscal targets with euro zone partners for 2021 onward, finance minister Christos Staikouras said on Tuesday. The coronavirus pandemic brought the Greek economy to a halt, therefore, Greece will be discussing new fiscal targets with his euro zone counterparts, Staikouras said speaking to CNBC network. The European …
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EU Commission approves a €748million tranche to Greece
Despite the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on its economy and society, “Greece has taken the necessary actions to achieve its due specific reform commitments”, the European Commission said in the sixth enhanced surveillance report on the country, released on Monday. The Commission recommended that the Eurogroup releases a tranche …
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Eurogroup agrees on €240-billion Pandemic Crisis Support fund
The Eurogroup approved on Friday cheap loans from the European Stability Mechanism for emergency pandemic crisis support without conditionality. According to the deal reached, Euro area member countries hit by the coronavirus pandemics have access to loans totaling 240 billion euros with zero interest and practically without conditions. The rescue …
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Greece to benefit from Eurogroup decision by 6 billion euros
European Union finance ministers agreed late on Thursday on a 540-billion-euro package of measures to combat the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. “Today we agreed on three safety nets and a plan for the recovery to ensure we grow together and not apart once the crisis is behind us,” …
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Varoufakis urged Greek Gov’t to use its veto at the Eurogroup
Leader of MeRA25 and former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis urge the Greek government to use its veto at the Eurogroup meeting scheduled to take place later on Thursday. “If the government agrees, it will have buried all hope for the country’s recovery,” Varoufakis added. Addressing Finance Minister Christos Staikouras in …
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Eurogroup fails to agree on coronavirus-funds, blame the Dutch
Εurozone finance ministers failed to agree on more support for coronavirus-hit economies. The breakdown at the eurogroup late on Tuesday came after Italy and the Netherlands squabbled over what conditions should be attached to euro zone credit, blocking progress on half a trillion euros worth of aid. The Eurogroup has …
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Varoufakis recordings: Eurogroup dirty laundry to be released March 10
“You can hear Schaeuble’s voice saying that the profits from Greek bonds he wanted for the German budget,” Yanis Varoufakis revealed in an interview ahead of the controversial release of his secret recordings from the Eurogroup sessions in the first half of 2015. “Don’t you want to hear Schaeuble speaking …
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Eurogroup agrees to return €767mn from SMP/ANFA profits to Greece
The Eurogroup has agreed to return €767 million from SMP/ANFA profits to Greece following the successful conclusion of the fourth enhanced surveillance report, an official statement said on Wednesday. The amount is profit from the Securities and Markets bond-buying programme (SMP) and Agreement on Net Financial Assets(ANFA) bonds. The Eurogroup …
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ESM opens way for discussion to reduce primary surplus in 2020
Head of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Claus Regling, has paved the way for reduction of the primary surplus and welcomed Greece’s intention to repay the IMF loan earlier than planned. Following the Eurogroup meeting on Friday, Regling said that if the growth rates of the Greek economy were higher …
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Varoufakis is considering to release his secret Eurogroup recordings
Former finance minister and founder of MeRA25, Yanis Varoufakis, is considering to upload on internet his secret recordings from the Eurogroup meetings while he was negotiating for Greece in the first half of 2015. “I’m thinking of uploading the recordings to the internet. After all, I was the only one …
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Eurogroup and the EU tell PM Mitsotakis to “stick to the commitments”
The new Greek government has not yet sworn in and the country’s lenders, the Eurogroup, sent a clear message to new Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis: He has to stick to the commitments of the previous government. Eurogroup chief Mario Centeno warned that “commitments are commitments and if we break those, …
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The EZ Vaudeville: “Greek economy” on Eurogroup agenda on July 8
European lenders must have either a weird sense of humor or they are complete freaks in the eurozone vaudeville. Just hours after the Greek general elections, and while the ink has yet to dry on the ballot papers, the finance ministers of the eurozone will hold a Eurogroup meeting to …
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Eurogroup: Greece’s lenders concerned about the package of “relief measures”
The Eurogroup has warned Greece about the benefits and relief measures the parliament approved during the week. “Greece must continue to respect its commitments,” said Eurogroup chief Mario Centeno stressing at the same time that “Greece has overachieved on fiscal targets so far.” Deputy Finance Minister Giorgos Houliarakis briefed the …
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Eurogroup approves disbursement of €973million “capital transfer” to Greece
Eurogroup chief Mario Centeno confirmed the approval of the approximately one-billion-euro (973 million euros) disbursement to Greece and the activation of what the Eurogroup calls “debt relief measures”, during a press conference after the end of the Eurogroup meeting in Bucharest. The almost one-billion-euros consists of 644 million euros return …
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Eurogroup postpones release of €970mn to Greece for “no fulfilling commitments”
Finance ministers of the eurozone decided to postpone the release of 970 million euros claiming that Greece has not fulfill its commitments to the European creditors with regards to the post-bailout reforms program. Creditors hold off on Greek debt relief payment “waiting for clarity on reform progress,” said European Stability …
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German FinMin Scholz to block €970mn for Greece at Eurogroup
German finance minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) plans to block the release of 970 million euros for Greece at the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels on Monday. According to an internal memo of the German Finance Ministry obtained by daily Handelsblatt, the Eurogroup should postpone its decision [for the money release] at …
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Transparency Int slams Eurogroup practices, “small states not protected”
There is “no real progress” in attempts to make the Eurogroup more transparent, a member of the Dutch parliament told EUobserver. “We are not making any headway with this file,” said Renske Leijten, MP for the socialist party. Almost a year ago, Leijten travelled to Brussels with two fellow Dutch …
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Petition demanding €8bn ECB profits return to Greece handed to Eurogroup
In a meeting with Eurogroup spokesperson Luis Rego, a group of campaigners including Positive Money Europe handed a petition to euro zone finance ministers demanding that Greece gets back the profits made off of its debt. Luis Rego promised the campaigners to bring the issue to the attention of EG …
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Campaigners demand from Eurogroup full return of ECB profits to Greece
Campaigners from pressure groups Positive Money Europe, WeMove.EU and Eurodad will hand in a petition to the Eurogroup as it meets at 15h00 CEST on Friday demanding Greek debt profits are fully returned from the European Central Bank. According to pressure groups investigation, €8 billion are missing from the Eurogroup …
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