| Author (Corporate) | Eurogroup |
|---|---|
| Series Title | Meeting |
| Series Details | 16.02.15 |
| Publication Date | 16/02/2015 |
| Content Type | News |
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The Eurogroup continued the discussion on the 16 February 2015 on the situation in Greece, in the context of the imminent expiry of Greece's current economic adjustment programme at the end of February 2015. News sources after the meeting reported that the talks between Greece and its eurozone partners on how to manage Greek debt broke down after Athens rejected a eurozone demand to extend its bailout. 'The best way forward is the extension of the current programme', said Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Eurogroup President at the press conference following the meeting. He went on to highlight that there was a degree of flexibility within the programme, which could be negotiated between Greece and the institutions. These negotiations could start when the Greek authorities submitted a request for an extension of the programme accompanied by a clear set of commitments outlined by the ministers during the meeting. Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis expressed confidence that a deal on different terms was possible within the next few days. News sources reported on the 18 February 2015 that Greece would submit a request to the eurozone on the 19 February 2015 to extend a 'loan agreement' ('technical extension to the existing Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement') for up to six months. Separately, news sources also reported on the 18 February 2015 that the European Central Bank had reportedly agreed to raise the emergency funding available to Greek banks to €68.3bn. The €3.3bn increase in the so-called Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) was critical for Greece's banks. ------------------------------------------------------------ They also discussed Portugal's plans for early repayment of a part of the financial assistance received from the International Monetary Fund. There was also a discussion on the state of play regarding the ongoing economic adjustment programme in Cyprus. The Eurogroup was briefed on the results of the informal EU summit held on 12 February 2015, in particular regarding the discussion on the Economic and Monetary Union. |
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| Source Link | Link to Main Source http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/eurogroup/2015/02/16/ |
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| Subject Categories | Economic and Financial Affairs |
| Countries / Regions | Cyprus, Europe, Greece, Portugal |
