ESM head Klaus Regling received the reassurance by the Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos during their meeting that the Greek authorities would not renege on their commitments regarding the implementation of the measures provided in the memorandum.

In statements after the meeting with Mr Tsakalotos, Regling said that post-memorandum monitoring was not a new Memorandum “because it does not have new measures” but the EU would be checking until 2059 “if the agreed ones are respected”.
“The post memorandum oversight in Greece will be tougher because it has received higher sums from other countries and has been granted debt relief and will receive more relief. This does not mean a new memorandum because it will not have new terms. During the time of the Memorandum of Understanding, there will be constant monitoring of how the country is proceeding, the budget, and whether the agreed terms are respected”, he said.
There will be a debt repayment analysis that expires in 2059. And, as part of this surveillance, there will be an analysis of the implementation of agreed measures, such as surpluses, for example”, he stressed.

As Mr Regling said, “there was some concern from the markets and some European parliaments that there might a reverse in reforms,” but “after visiting Athens, I once again ascertained the government’s commitment to the reforms. The government’s commitment is clear and that it will not backtrack”, he said, adding that there were no signs to the contrary.