The German Bundestag has rejected the recommendation made by the country’s Finance Ministry for the release of the first 7.5bln Euro installment to Greece in the framework of the Greek bailout plan. The parliament did not give the green light, demanding that all prior actions be fulfilled by Greece before it approves the disbursement of the tranche. This means the German budget committee has postponed its decision to release the money before Greece has met its obligations emanating from the Eurogroup agreement on may 24.

The representative of the CDU/CSU group, Eckhardt Rehberg explained to the parliamentary committee that the money was not released because the implementation of a small portion of the agreed measures by the Greek government had not yet been completed. The Euroworking Group is scheduled to meet tomorrow, Thursday in Finland aiming to overcome any minor shortcomings, which would permit for the release of the tranche to Greece. Meanwhile, the Greek Finance Ministry said the Euroworking Group meeting in Finland will reaffirm that Greece has implemented all prior actions agreed upon.