During the debate for the two-month extension of the Greek program at the German parliament, Angela Merkel underlined on Thursday that the prospects of all five countries in crisis at the Eurozone are much better now than they were two years ago.

More specifically, the German Chancellor said that, despite the fact that unemployment remains high in these five countries, including Greece, the prospects to become more competitive are improving.

Today, the German parliament will be called to vote for the approval of Eurogroup’s proposal for a two-month extension of the Greek program, ahead of the EU summit to begin in a few hours in Brussels.

The request for the approval of the two-month extension of Greece’s bailout program and the approval in principle of a precautionary financial assistance in the form of an enhanced conditions credit line of up to 10.9 billion euros, with duration of up to 12 months, was submitted to the Federal Parliament of Germany on December 15.