The Greek government and the troika of international creditors are optimistic that today's (8 July) Eurogroup meeting will see the release of €8 billion desperately needed by Athens to help repay existing loans.
The Eurogroup is meeting today to decide whether or not to give the go ahead to give Greece €8.1 billion – the latest tranche of its €240 rescue package – which the country needs to stave off bankruptcy, and help pay back €2.2 billion worth of bonds by August.
After several days of talks between the troika (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) which ended on 7 July, both sides expressed optimism that a deal could be reached, although speculation remains that the €8.1 billion will itself be issued in instalments. This, however, may be conditional on Greece cutting its public sector budget, including staff cuts.
There had been speculation in the media over the weekend that a deal on the pace of reforms had been struck, and that funds would be released only after specific milestones had been reached.
Prior to the Eurogroup meeting this afternoon, the European Commission said that the Greek government's reform programme is on-track to meet its objectives.
In a statement, the commission said “the mission and the authorities agreed that the macroeconomic outlook remains broadly in line with programme projections, with prospects for a gradual return to growth in 2014. The outlook remains uncertain, however.”
According to the commission statement , Greece has agreed to undertake reforms of the revenue and tax system and curb overspending in the health sector.
“The authorities are preparing ministerial decisions and other legal steps to implement their commitments in the coming days,” it said.
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