Eurogroup held in Brussels to discuss the next dose for Greece

Author: newsroom  | Published: November 23, 2015

48 prior actions implemented, and more “good news” to come as new actions are on the way!

The route for Greece’s full bailout is strewn with milestones and even more austerity measures. The positive compliance report for Greece by the Euro Working Group on Saturday paves the way for Monday’s approval by EU finance ministers for the release of the 2 bln euro subtranche benchmarked for Greece.

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) will take the relevant decision for the disbursement of the 2 billion euro subtranche and 10 billion euros for the recapitalization of Greek banks, after it convenes later in the day on the sidelines of the Eurogroup meeting.

Eurogroup Chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Twitter:

TWEET

Now, under Draconian security measures and facing the ‘imminent’ threat of a terror attack, the EU finance ministers will agree that Greece has adopted and applied the 48 prior actions that had been agreed upon.

Eurogroup will release 10 bln euros for the recapitalization of Greek banks and a second package of prior actions to release 1 billion euros worth of aid for Greece.

Leaving Athens, representatives of Greece’s creditors (EC, ECB, ESM, IMF) left behind a to-do list that needs to mature over the next 10-15 days before the group returns to monitor progress.

The list with the new measures is dominated by changes to Greece’s social security and more tax raids.

The Radical Left Coalition (SYRIZA) government will be put to the endurance test again. Measures include:

1) New tax legislation: Cuts to tax exemptions, new tax index for income, rent, inheritance, donations, parental benefits, real estate transfers, more farm tax, and the incorporation of special solidarity contributions to the tax index.

2) Social security changes: Reforms need to be made by the end of 2015 will be painful for thousands of pensioners currently receiving benefits, not just for “future” pensioners. There is a commitment to slash pension funds in 2016 by 1.8 billion euros.

3) New payment chart for the Public Sector: New wages are to be chartered by the end of December and income level will no longer apply for the rank of each employee among other changes.