The talks with the Greek government on the short-term debt measures will commence immediately Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem wrote in his twitter account today.

As he states, the ESM will go ahead with the decision-making process regarding the Greek debt as Greece sent the letter the lenders had requested, where it is made clear that Greece will honor all commitments in the agreement the country has signed with them.

A few weeks ago, the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, had announced some social one-off measures since the target for primary surplus were met and they were exceeded. The Eurogroup saw that as a violation of the agreement because there was no previous consultation with them, and “froze” all procedures of regarding the short-term debt relief measures they had agreed a just a few days earlier. They further requested a letter from the Greek government stating the government’s ownership of the program.

The Greek government saw Dijsselbloem’s statement as “Christmas present” and speaks of “a vindication” of the government’s efforts.
The main opposition party, New Democracy, however, is not as thrilled. The party’s vice-president, Adonis Georgiadis stated that we should wait and see what the letter says.