Brussels, 23/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 23 November, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) approved the disbursement of a new tranche of aid of €2 billion to Greece, which will be paid over on Tuesday 24 November.
This decision comes after the Greek government finalised and applied a first raft of prior measures (see EUROPE 11435). Most of the envelope will be used to allow Athens to service its public debt, clear its arrears and contribute to the co-funding of projects also supported by the structural funds of the EU, the permanent bailout fund stated in a press release.
The Executive Director of the ESM, Klaus Regling, welcomed a decision which reflects “the Greek government's commitment” to apply a series of prior measures, such as a law tightening up the rules on real estate foreclosures and the introduction of taxes on wines and sports gambling.
The creditors of Athens have also given the Greek authorities access to the envelope containing up to €10 billion for bank recapitalisation, the French finance minister, Michel Sapin, confirmed. He also confirmed that of the four banks - for which a total capital deficit of €14.4 billion was identified by the ECB - two of them (Piraeus Bank and NBG) will require a “top-up” from the public purse in order to be refloated. The two other banks (Alpha Bank and Eurobank) successfully raised the capital on the markets themselves.
According to the French minister, the government will present financial sector reforms by mid-December, as part of the second raft of prior measures ahead of the disbursement of any further tranche of funding. He noted that the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, recently referred to a pensions reform, which could be part of this second set of measures. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)