A crucial meeting of the Euro Group has broken up in Brussels without reaching an agreement on releasing a long-awaited 31.5 billion euros ($39.3 billion) emergency assistance for debt-stricken Greece and postponed a decision till next Monday. Euro Group President Jean-Claude Juncker said that the failure of the meeting to wrap up a deal was not because of Greece. The Greek government has delivered what it had promised, he told mediapersons as he left the conference venue after a marathon 12-hour session. ‘There are no major political differences. We are discussing technical issues and as we are responsible to our governments and national parliaments, we have to work out everything very precisely,’ Juncker said.
In a press statement, Juncker said that the ministers had an extensive discussion and ‘made progress in identifying a consistent package of credible initiatives’ aimed at making a further substantial contribution to the sustainability of Greek government debt. ‘The euro group interrupted its meeting to allow for further technical work on some elements of this package,’ the statement said.
The meeting welcomed the agreement between the Greek government and the ‘troika’ of experts of the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank (ECB) on further implementing the conditions attached to the bailout programme, including a wide range of far-reaching measures in the areas of fiscal consolidation, structural reforms, privatisation and financial sector stabilisation, the statement said.
The Euro Group noted with satisfaction that ‘all prior actions required ahead of Tuesday’s meeting have been met in a satisfactory manner’, the statement said. This reflects a set of wide-ranging reforms as well as the budget for 2013 and an ambitious medium-term fiscal strategy for 2013-16.
The ministers commended the ‘considerable efforts’ made by the Greek authorities and citizens to reach this stage, the statement said. German finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that the ministers had ‘very intensive’ discussions on a series of proposals lying on the table, but ‘the issues are so complex that we could not find a solution’.
The finance ministers of the 17-nation Euro Zone were widely expected to give their final go-ahead for paying out the latest tranche of a 130-billion euro ($166 billion) financial rescue package, especially after they last week commended the progress made by the Greek government in implementing the reforms agreed. The Greek government claims that without the bailout installment, which was delayed since the parliamentary election in June, it faces bankruptcy by the end of this month.
Greece fulfilled a major condition of the EU and IMF when parliament in Athens approved earlier this month a new round of tough spending cuts aimed at saving up to 13 billion euros over the next two years. However, differences over how to raise the additional funds which will be needed to support Greece if the 2020 deadline to reduce its debts is extended to 2022, blocked a deal at the Brussels meeting.
The ministers failed to reach a pact on a proposal by the IMF to write down part of Greece’s debt to public sector creditors. The IMF opposed extending the target to achieve a 120 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio.
In a press statement, Juncker said that the ministers had an extensive discussion and ‘made progress in identifying a consistent package of credible initiatives’ aimed at making a further substantial contribution to the sustainability of Greek government debt. ‘The euro group interrupted its meeting to allow for further technical work on some elements of this package,’ the statement said.
The meeting welcomed the agreement between the Greek government and the ‘troika’ of experts of the EU, IMF and the European Central Bank (ECB) on further implementing the conditions attached to the bailout programme, including a wide range of far-reaching measures in the areas of fiscal consolidation, structural reforms, privatisation and financial sector stabilisation, the statement said.
The Euro Group noted with satisfaction that ‘all prior actions required ahead of Tuesday’s meeting have been met in a satisfactory manner’, the statement said. This reflects a set of wide-ranging reforms as well as the budget for 2013 and an ambitious medium-term fiscal strategy for 2013-16.
The ministers commended the ‘considerable efforts’ made by the Greek authorities and citizens to reach this stage, the statement said. German finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said that the ministers had ‘very intensive’ discussions on a series of proposals lying on the table, but ‘the issues are so complex that we could not find a solution’.
The finance ministers of the 17-nation Euro Zone were widely expected to give their final go-ahead for paying out the latest tranche of a 130-billion euro ($166 billion) financial rescue package, especially after they last week commended the progress made by the Greek government in implementing the reforms agreed. The Greek government claims that without the bailout installment, which was delayed since the parliamentary election in June, it faces bankruptcy by the end of this month.
Greece fulfilled a major condition of the EU and IMF when parliament in Athens approved earlier this month a new round of tough spending cuts aimed at saving up to 13 billion euros over the next two years. However, differences over how to raise the additional funds which will be needed to support Greece if the 2020 deadline to reduce its debts is extended to 2022, blocked a deal at the Brussels meeting.
The ministers failed to reach a pact on a proposal by the IMF to write down part of Greece’s debt to public sector creditors. The IMF opposed extending the target to achieve a 120 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio.