Staff statement following the first post-programme mission to Greece

14 September 2018

Staff from the European Commission, in liaison with staff from the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, visited Athens from 10 to 14 September for the first post-programme mission to Greece. Staff from the European Stability Mechanism participated in the meetings in the context of its Early Warning System.

Following the completion of the ESM programme, Greece is reintegrated into the European Semester of economic policy coordination. The Commission has also activated the enhanced surveillance instrument under Regulation 472/2013 for Greece, effective with the end of the programme.

The mission held discussions on the situation and key challenges facing the Greek economy in the post-programme period, as well as the state of play and next steps in the implementation of Greece’s commitment to continue and complete the key reforms launched under the programme. This included discussions on the fiscal situation and outlook, which will feed into the preparation of Greece’s Draft Budgetary Plan for 2019, to be submitted to the Commission by 15 October, as well as on the implementation of the Non-Performing Loans resolution strategy.

The mission was also an occasion to meet with representatives of political parties, social partners and banks, with a view to updating them on the modalities of engagement in the post-programme period and exchanging views on key policy issues.

Close dialogue on economic policy challenges and priorities will continue going forward. The first quarterly enhanced surveillance report will be issued in November, together with the Commission’s Autumn Package under the European Semester.

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