The European Commission VP Valdis Dombrovskis stated that we are closed to fulfilling our common goals, following his Monday meeting with Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos and Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis.
Mr. Dombrovskis claimed that the talks in Athens were constructive and gave him a collective picture on how to get the Greek economy back on track. The EC VP told the press that investments and European funding were discussed and recognized that will to take necessary measures for the recovery of the Greek economy.
According to Mr. Dombrovskis, European will made advance payments for 2014-2020 in order to release funding allocated for the 2013-2017 period and revealed that there was also funding available for 2015-2016. He also expressed the European desire for Greek authorities to establish the legislative framework to collect a further 500 million euros by the end of 2015.
The Vice President of the European Commission repeated an earlier comment, namely that there was no time to lose, since the very ambitious reform program must be implemented in a very short period. Mr. Dombrovskis also expressed his confidence that Greece will recover and return to growth which will in turn allow the country to solve its social problems.
On his behalf, Finance Minister Tsakalotos underlined the need for a honorary compromise regarding red loans and protecting homeowners from primary residence auctions. He also revealed that the critical bank recapitalization and pension system reform were also discussed in the meeting.
The Minister of Economy Giorgos Stathakis reported that an extensive discussion on managing European resources was discussed, specifically the use of NSRF funding. Various development projects which have stalled, such as the Metro in Thessaloniki, were also on the agenda.
