- Title: EU Commission, Germany, France hope for a deal on Greece on Monday
- Date: 22nd May 2017
- Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (RECENT) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF EU COUNCIL BUILDING EU FLAGS OUTSIDE EU COUNCIL BUILDING
- Embargoed: 5th June 2017 15:18
- Keywords: Council Commission Deal Greece EU Review finance European Union debt relief euro zone
- Location: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- City: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
- Country: Belgium
- Topics: European Union,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0016HX8QBR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: European Economic and Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday (May 22) they hoped a deal regarding greece's debts could be taken before the end of the day.
Finance ministers of the 19-country euro zone were meeting in Brussels on Greece to determine whether to grant Greece debt relief.
Moscovici told reporters before the meeting that a reach was in reach, while Schaeuble said he hoped for a political agreement that would allow euro zone governments to pay out the next tranche of loans to Greece, but warned that the finalisation of an agreement on Greece would have to wait for a compliance report on whether the country has implemented all the agreed reforms, which euro zone officials said was positive.
Le Maire echoed the words of Moscovici, saying he hoped ministers would reach an agreement.
Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem said he was looking forward to the participation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which euro zone ministers want to join the Greek bailout.
The IMF has asked for more details on how far debt relief could go and what it would look like before it joins the programme.
Meanwhile, Belgian finance minister Johan Van Overtveldt called for caution on granting Greece debt relief, wary of setting a precedent and noting that the country was already benefiting from very low interest rates thanks to the cheap bailout loans.
Without the deal, no new loans can be disbursed to Athens, even though the bailout is now handled only by euro zone governments, and Greece needs new credit to repay some 7.3 billion euros worth of maturing loans in July.
Without the loans, Athens is likely to default - a bad start for a country that wants to return to market financing next year when its latest bailout, the third since 2010, ends in mid-2018. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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