“Considering the extraordinary circumstances posed by the Coronavirus outbreak, Greece has taken the necessary actions to achieve its due specific reform commitments”, the European Commission said in its 6th post-Macroeconomic Rescue Plan Monitoring Report on Wednesday 20 May.
The report notes that at the onset of the crisis, Greece enjoyed a favourable fiscal position with substantial monetary reserves of €34 billion, a primary budget surplus (excluding debt servicing) above 3.5% of GDP for the fifth consecutive year, and low medium-term refinancing needs in the markets. Athens is now benefiting from the PEPP operation for the whole-scale repurchase of government securities that the ECB launched in response to the pandemic.
The European Commission also supports the Greek government's additional reform commitments, including modernisation of the employment market, reform of the judiciary, and better management of public housing stock.
EU Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said the report creates the basis for a “positive” decision by the Eurogroup “in June” to release a further tranche of aid of “€748 million” to help ease Greece's public debt servicing.
See the Commission's report: https://bit.ly/2Zn8nvO (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)