Greece's European institutional creditors fully delivered, on Thursday 9 January, on their promise to grant additional financial aid of €767 million after the Eurogroup found, in early December 2019, that Athens had met its budgetary commitments in 2019 and had committed to do so in 2020 (see EUROPE 12383/16).
At the end of December, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the euro area's permanent rescue fund, had already transferred a sum of €644.42 corresponding to the profits made by the European System of Central Banks on the acquisition of Greek debt securities (SMP/ANFA holdings) at the height of the sovereign debt crisis.
On Thursday, the Board of Directors of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF), the euro area's permanent rescue fund that preceded the creation of the ESM and intervened in the first two Greek rescue packages, decided to reduce to zero the step-up margin due from Greece for the period between June and December 2019, as part of the medium-term debt relief measures agreed for the country.
This aid, this time valued at €122.15 million, can be renewed every six months until 2022, if Greece respects its budgetary commitments. This is also the case for the payment of profits made during SMP/ANFA holdings.
Greece still has to repay €190 billion in loans granted by the EFSF and the ESM. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)