The second review of Greece’s financing programme is about to conclude. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) is preparing to pay out EUR 8.5 bn to the Greek authorities, after all parties agreed that they had completely fulfilled their side of the agreement.
■ As to debt relief measures, the Europeans essentially held to the framework of the May 2016 agreement: measures will not be adopted until the financing programme ends in mid-2018, and the size of debt relief is still unknown. The Europeans spelled out the procedure as clearly as possible.
■ The IMF signed on to this procedure, although without making any fundamental concessions. It will recommend a new funding arrangement for Greece, but the IMF will not make any pay outs until Greece and its creditors reach an agreement on debt relief.
■ The Europeans acknowledge that the next step for Greece is to prepare to return to the financial markets.
As usual, the eurozone finance ministers drew out the suspense until the very last moment before reaching an agreement with Greece and the IMF on 15 June 2017 that will conclude the second review of the current financing programme, which was initially scheduled to end in late 2016. The key points are highlighted below:
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by Frédérique CERISIER