The Press conference held by Eurogroup Chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem, European Stability Mechanism Chief Klaus Regling and EU Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs commissioner was held on the occasion of the Eurogroup conference held on December 7. Agenda highlights included the implementation of Greece’s adjustment program, specifically the upcoming implementation of the second set of milestones that would unlock the disbursement of the remaining 1 billion euros from the first tranche of financial assistance and bank recapitalization.

Dijsselbloem called on Greece to complete prior actions by mid-December so as to receive the funds benchmarked for the country. He said that Greece was discussed in particular at today’s meeting, stressing that the second package of prior actions has been completed by the Euro Working Group. He stressed that the legislation and application of the second package paves the way for more serious fiscal and structural reforms for the Greek economy. These reforms are a huge step towards the completion of the first review for Greece at the start of the new year. The Dutch politician characterized the recapitalization process of the four systematic banks of Greece as a “success”, adding that the needs of banks were lower than expected.

Moscovici, too, appeared optimistic regarding bank recapitlization, stating that it is positive that Greece will not need all the money set aside for bank recapitalization. He appeared optimistic regarding the Greek economy, stating that it was more positive than had been expected. Nonetheless, he sent out the need for “work, work, work” and underlined that difficult decisions need to be made for social security and fiscal balance.