BRUSSELS (MNI) – Eurozone finance ministers will not be in a
position to sign off on the next tranche of financial aid for Greece
when they meet in Luxembourg next week, Jean-Claude Juncker, the
president of the Eurogroup, told lawmakers in the European Parliament in
Strasbourg on Tuesday.
There will be no decision taken on Greece when the Eurogroup meets
next week “because the Troika won’t have made its report yet, or at
least we won’t have had adequate time to study it,” Juncker said.
Juncker, who is also the prime minister of Luxembourg, added that
it was his understanding inspectors from the European Commission, IMF
and European Central Bank, responsible for evaluating Athens’ compliance
with the terms of its EU-IMF bailout, “will be heading back to Athens
tomorrow of the day after.”
Earlier Tuesday, a European Commission spokesman said that a review
team was likely to be sent “soon” but that no date had yet been set.
The inspectors will be sent as soon as conditions are met, the
Commission said.
Greece needs the officials from the three institutions to write a
favourable review of its progress towards cutting its fiscal deficit,
implementing structural reforms and selling state assets, in order to
secure a vital E8 billion loan from the EU and IMF before Athens runs
out of funds to pay civil servants and pensions.
–Brussels Newsroom, +324-9522-8374; pkoh@marketnews.com
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