Highlights

Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg Prime Minister,
President of the Eurogroup and
Mr Evangelos Venizelos, Greek Minister for Finance
© European Union, 2012

At a meeting on 9 February euro area finance ministers discussed the conditions that need to be met in order to agree on the new support programme for Greece, which includes EUR 130bn of official financing.

The discussion took place on the basis of detailed information from the Troika (i.e. the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund) on the Greek authorities' agreement to a new programme of action to improve the sustainability of the country's public finances and restore economic growth.

The President of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker said that a final decision on the support programme for Greece had to be postponed until next week, and would depend on three conditions that the Greek authorities had been asked to fulfil. "Despite the progress achieved over the past two days we still do not have all the necessary elements on the table to take decisions today", said Mr Junker.

The three elements, said Mr Juncker, consisted of approval by the Greek Parliament in the coming days of the policy package recently agreed between Greece and the Troika; closing the remaining financing gap of EUR 325 million in 2012; and a commitment by the country’s political leaders to implement the programme. There would be "no disbursement without implementation", concluded Mr Junker.

Another important element for the final decision is the debt sustainability analysis which will be completed shortly by the Troika.

In addition, the euro area ministers took note of the agreement between the Greek authorities and the private sector on the general terms of private sector involvement (PSI), i.e. a reduction in the amount of debt to be repaid to creditors.

"We are fully aware of the significant efforts made by Greek citizens, but we also underline the further and joint efforts that are needed to return Greek society to the growth and sustainability path", said Mr Juncker.

The next Eurogroup meeting is preliminarily scheduled for 15 February.

More information:
Webcast of the Press Conference