Yes from the Eurogroup in installments of bonds and repayment of expensive debt

By Tasos Dasopoulos

Its approval for the disbursement of the installment of 767 million euros as a result of successful completion of the 12th evaluation, but also for the early repayment of the loans of the International Monetary Fund and part of the bilateral loan, totaling 52.3 billion euros (GLF) that Greece received in the first memorandum, the Eurogroup gave today.

In a statement on the decisions of the Council of Ministers of Finance of the Eurozone, the Greek Minister of Finance Christos Staikouras stressed that with the approval of the report of the Commission for the 12th evaluation “was recognized, once again, by all participants, the immediate, targeted and effective response of the Government to address the effects of the health crisis on households and businesses.

In terms of evaluation, despite the adverse conditions caused by the pandemic and the devastating summer fires, the further promotion and implementation of important reforms and structural changes was welcomed.

The progress made in the simplification of the licensing process for making investments, in privatizations, in the administration of state enterprises, in social welfare, in the public administration, in the Land Registry, in the taxation of real estate was also certified.
It was pointed out that the implementation of reforms and the implementation of investments in the framework of the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan is expected to give a significant growth impetus and to be a springboard for strengthening the green and digital transition.

Thus, the decision to disburse the sixth package of measures for the relief of the Greek debt, amounting to 767 million euros. ”

The Minister of Finance stressed that at the same time the Eurogroup expressed its satisfaction with the intention of our country to proceed with the early repayment of the balance of loans to the IMF, amounting to 1.8 billion euros and 5.2 billion euros (approximately the 10% of the total) from bilateral loans to Eurozone countries, concluded in 2010, under the first fiscal adjustment program. Eurozone finance ministers have agreed that the repayments will be in many ways beneficial to Greece’s public finances.

“The above positive developments are added to today’s announcement of ELSTAT, which shows that the GDP of our country increased by 13.4% in the 3rd quarter of 2021, compared to the corresponding quarter of 2020.

The best European performance, as the average – to date – the corresponding European term is around 4% “, stressed the Minister of Finance. Noting that the GDP amounted to 46.4 billion euros in the third quarter of 2021, the highest domestic performance in the last decade.”