The Euro Working Group is expected to convene – possibly on Tuesday 20 December – in order to decide whether the reinstate the short-term debt relief measures for Greece, which were suspended after the recent Eurogroup.
These measures were suspended in response to the Greek Prime Minister’s recent proclamation regarding the primary surplus. Although the Eurogroup eventually decided to put the measures on hold, the decision was not unanimous and there was significant difference of opinion among the European officials.
The ESM’s Klaus Regling argued that there was concern on the proclamations, but noted that they will not affect the agreed targets for the next two years. Similarly the European Commission VP Valdis Dombrovskis stated that the issue has been blown out of proportion. Support for Greece also came from the European Commission’s Pierre Moscovici, European Parliament President Martin Schulz and French President Francois Hollande.
