The Eurogroup and Ecofin councils are convening today and tomorrow in Athens and after the latest political and financial developments, the coalition government is optimistic that it will receive approval for the collection of 8.3 billion euros from the European Support Mechanism (ESM).

Aside from Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem and presiding Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras, European Commissioners Olli Rehn and Michel Barnier, ESM chief Klaus Regling and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble are expected in Athens.

At today’s Eurogroup, where Greece expects to receive approval for the collection of loan installments, the troika praised the coalition government’s efforts. Talks over Greek matters ended shortly after 11:30, with the Eurogroup then turning to the other issues on the agenda.

Upon arriving, European Commissioner Olli Rehn noted that important decisions were made in the Greek parliament and that a staff-level agreement was expected at today’s Eurogroup session, with the final decision expected tomorrow. The Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem reported that it was «nice to be in Greece«, since there is a primary surplus and the return to growth looms.

The discussion began with an introduction by presiding Finance Minister Stournaras and was followed up the members of the troika. The Finance Ministers of the other Eurozone countries began making their statements at around 10:30. It appears that the 8.3 billion euros that Greece is to collect from its European partners will be split in three installments; a 6.3-billion-euro installment in April and two 1-billion-euro installments due in June and July respectively.

The Eurogroup members decided that Greece must complete certain tasks in order to collect each of the installments:

  • For the April installment: Full implementation of the recent, controversial multi-bill.
  • For the June installment: Abolish third party taxes, establish framework for tackling corruption in public sector, new efforts to collect outstanding debts, reduce pharmacy profit margins and ensure uninsured have access to healthcare services
  • For the July installment: unify all public sector supplementary pension funds and merge them with the private sector fund, privatize state power company DEI while addressing debts the company is owed and establishing a new framework regarding the funding of political parties.

The recent agreement with the troika also includes an evaluation of the insurance system’s viability, establishing a new payroll in the public sector that will take into consideration employee reviews, re-evaluating the current collective redundancy framework and promote a new “toolkit” (from OECD or similar international organization) for retail, communications, e-commerce and processing.

Ecofin and the agenda for day two

The Ecofin will convene on Tuesday and Mr. Stournaras will focus the discussions on issues such as the banking union, the social aspect of growth and financial stability in Europe, the long-term funding (especially for SMEs) and the preparations for the summer conferences of the IMF and the G20.

Supporting growth and job creation, particularly for young people, is high up on the agenda of the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP), where the European Investment Bank (EIB) will present its 2020 Road Map and overall strategy for the Mediterranean. The Finance Ministers will have the opportunity to discuss the social problems in Europe and exchange opinions on improving the situation and growth prospects.

On Wednesday, the finance ministers will focus their efforts on the regulatory framework of the European Banking System, along with the necessary improvements. The Greek presidency has invested a lot in the banking union, as it will increase trust and cash flow, bringing further stability to the European economy.

The Eurogroup’s statement regarding the today’s proceedings can be viewed here.