The annual report of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), which its Governing Council approved on the sidelines of the Eurogroup meeting of Thursday 21 June, shows that the permanent bailout fund of the Eurozone has awarded Greece €45.9 billion in loans since 2015.
This figure does not include the final tranche of aid to be awarded to Athens when the fourth monitoring mission of the third Greek bailout plan concludes (see other article).
The publication of these accounts is particularly relevant, with the Hellenic Republic getting ready to leave the financial tutelage of its European institutional creditors on 20 August.
The amounts disbursed by the ESM in the framework of the bailout plan are, however, less than those paid out by the Greek Loan Facility under the first bailout plan (€52.9 billion) and the European Financial Stability Fund (EFSF) for the second bailout plan (€141.8 billion).
By way of comparison, the IMF has lent Athens €32.1 billion since 2010.
“The ESM has not just worked on disbursement but on other issues in relation to the Greek programme. This includes debt sustainability and short-term debt relief measures”, said Mario Centeno, the President of the Eurogroup, who also chairs the Governing Council of the ESM. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)