The President of the Eurogroup, Mário Centeno, and the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission, Valdis Dombrovskis, praised on Friday 5 June the speed with which Greece reacted to the Covid-19 pandemic, both in health and economic terms.
This crisis is different, “especially for Greece”, because it does not originate from “moral hazard” or from structural imbalances, Mr Centeno said in an online debate organised by The Economist. “Greece has overperformed” in fighting the pandemic, he added.
Mr Dombrovskis said Athens could receive “€22.6 billion in grants and €9.4 billion in loans” under the Next Generation EU recovery plan, if adopted as proposed by the Commission at the end of May (see EUROPE 12494/2). Greece would thus be the fourth highest beneficiary country, after Italy, Spain, and Poland, he said.
According to Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, the European Union has reacted “quickly and collectively” to the pandemic. “Europe has found a mix of drugs to alleviate suffering, but not the coronavirus vaccine. This could be the Commission’s proposal to create a new recovery instrument, the Next Generation EU”, he considered. He called on the Member States to “put aside differences and quarrels” and to find an agreement to make European funding available as soon as possible.
On Tuesday 9 June, the ECOFIN Council will discuss the revised proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2021-2027 and the European Commission’s European Recovery Plan. They will do the same with 19 countries in the ‘Eurogroup’ format on Thursday 11 June. The aim is to prepare the ground for discussions at the ‘General Affairs’ Council on 16 June and, above all, at the European Council on Friday 19 June (see EUROPE 12498/6). This summit will be an opportunity to gauge the relevant parties and to assess whether unanimous agreement is possible before the summer break. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)