EuroWorking Group: ELSTAT and fiscal program on the agenda of talks for September 9 EuroGroup meeting

ELSTAT issue remains a thorn in talks

The progress of the Greek fiscal adjustment program and the ELSTAT issue will be two of the matters on the agenda of talks for the September 9 EuroGroup meeting, after the body’s preparatory organ, the EuroWorking Group (EWG) convened on Monday. The EWG prepared the technical details for the talks between the EU Minister for Finance in the framework of the informal EuroGroup meeting scheduled to take place in Bratislava in two weeks. According to EU sources, the EWG examined the progress of the implementation of the Greek adjustment program so far and what will happen with the prior actions that will ‘unlock’ the sub-tranche of the first review worth 2.8 billion Euros. It became evident that one of the matters touched upon during the EWG dinner was the issue of ELSTAT, the Greek Statistical Services body, and more specifically the controversy caused over the referral to Greek justice of the body’s former head Andreas Georgiou. The European Commission made its position clear on the matter, throwing its weight behind Georgiou in a letter to Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos. Besides the thorny ELSTAT matter, other issues regarding Greece included the assignment of the members of the privatisation fund’s supervisory board and the liberalisation of the energy market. Greece’s Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos agreed with Economic and Taxation Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici to expedite and improve cooperation between Greece and its EU partners to move negotiations forward. The Greek Finance Ministry hoped to receive the 2.8 billion tranche by the October EuroGroup meeting in Luxembourg.