Brussels, 25/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - Greece, which is seriously pressed for cash, has failed to secure the reimbursement of €1.2 billion it argues that its financial stability fund (the HFSF) overpaid to the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) in the framework of the Eurogroup agreement allowing the financial assistance framework agreement to be extended by four months.
The Council's Euro working group “had a first discussion on the amount of bonds returned to the EFSF in late February. There was agreement that, legally, there was no overpayment from the HFSF to the EFSF”, said a spokesperson, who went on to state that the working group would consider how to move forward on this issue in due course. “We see no reason to release”, this money, said Martin Jaeger, spokesperson to the German Finance Ministry, at a press conference on Wednesday.
By Monday, Greece has to present an exhaustive list of its reforms, prior to any disbursement of tranches of aid from the eurozone. “I have to recognise that I was very pessimistic during the last weeks because there was no progress whatsoever”, the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, told a debate at the European Parliament on Wednesday. “But now we are back in a normal process and I do think that we can come to a conclusion that will be both in favour of Greece and the European Union”, the Luxembourger added. (Elodie Lamer)