Dombrovskis: We hope Eurogroup will reach ‘agreement in principle’ on Greece

“The debt will be part of the discussions, but it is clear that the Eurogroup and creditors have set certain conditions, excluding nominal haircut,” he said

The Eurogroup meeting on Tuesday could be an “important step forward” regarding the conclusion of the first review of the Greek program, European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis said arriving at the meeting.

He said that Eurogroup hoped the meeting will allow them to “really reach an agreement in principle and which then, subject to fulfillment of certain conditions, will allow for disbursement of the next tranche within the Greek program,”.

However, he noted that this would first imply the implementation of prior actions by Greece and a full assessment by the institutions of the measures passed by Greece’s Parliament in recent days and weeks. “Since those votes took place only a few days ago, we still need to prepare a full disbursement,” he added.

Another important issue to discuss in today’s meeting will be the IMF’s participation in the program, as Dombrovskis noted. He said that the Europeans are “willing to work very constructively and assist the IMF’s full participation” as well as the issue of debt restructuring and its exact composition in the short, medium and long-term.

Asked about whether they will consider a debt haircut, Mr. Dombrovskis said “the debt will be part of the discussions and it is clear that the Eurogroup and creditors have set certain conditions, excluding nominal haircut.”

He also stressed that all decisions have to be taken within an ESM and EFSF legal framework.