The Eurozone finance ministers will take stock of progress with the third Greek bailout plan and will again debate the deepening of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), at the Eurogroup meeting to be held on Monday 12 March.
No major progress is anticipated on the Greek dossier. The Eurogroup reached a political agreement on the conclusion of the third monitoring mission of the third bailout plan on 22 January (see EUROPE 11944), before the creditors of Athens gave their approval, on 2 March, to the disbursement of a sub-tranche of aid of €5.7 billion, an envelope still to be formally approved by the governing council of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) (see EUROPE 11973).
The fourth monitoring mission of the bailout plan began at the end of February. Athens must implement 88 prior actions to be adopted by May of this year, ahead of the finalisation of the financial assistance plan in mid-August.
On the post-programme measures, discussions are making progress at technical level concerning the 'French mechanism', which aims to index the level of repayment of the Greek debt to the country's economic growth ('growth-adjustment mechanism'), and on supervision.
However, these questions are not expected to be discussed at ministerial level on Monday. According to a European source, they could be dealt with at the informal meeting of the finance ministers of the Eurozone in Sofia on Friday 27 April.
Deepening of EMU
The Eurogroup will again discuss the deepening of Economic and Monetary Union, on the basis of the European Commission's proposals of 6 December of last year (see EUROPE 11920). The aim is to prepare for the Eurozone summit to be held in Brussels on Friday 23 March.
Concerning Banking Union, the same source said that it was hoped that a political agreement in principle ('general approach') could be reached soon on the reduction of banking risks, possibly at the Ecofin Council meeting on Tuesday 13 March, so that discussions can resume on the sharing of financial risks, for instance by finalising Banking Union in the Eurozone.
The French delegation is reported to consider that it is “useful and important” that an agreement be reached ahead of the Ecofin meeting of Tuesday 13 March.
The Eurozone ministers are continuing discussions on the reform of the ESM with a view to converting it into a European Monetary Fund (EMF). The same applies over making the Eurozone's permanent bailout fund into a backstop for the Single Resolution Fund, the financial arm of Banking Union. The question of a fiscal capacity will also be raised.
However, on all of these points, no major progress is likely on Monday. As well as the Eurozone summit of 23 March, this work is also aiming for the June summit, when key decisions on the future of EMU may be made.
Finally, the ministers will discuss exchange rates and inflation in the Eurozone, to prepare for the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, to be held in Washington this April. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)