Eurogroup to discuss Greek programme at Milan meeting

The Eurogroup meeting to be held on Friday in Milan will discuss the progress in the implementation of the Greek programme following the discussions in Paris and ahead of troika's arrival in Athens later in September, a senior eurozone official said on Monday.

With regard to debt sustainability, the official underlined that this issue forms part of the discussions with the Greek authorities in the ongoing evaluation. He added, however, that the substantive negotiations will take place after the completion of the review. However, he stated that the debt sustainability analysis is also related to the 2015 budget figures, that is the deficit, the revenues and the spending. For this reason, he said, it is the member states' obligation to submit their 2015 draft budgets to the European Commission by mid-October, which will then be evaluated by the Commission at the end of November.

Asked what will follow the completion of the Greek programme, the official said that it is essentially a matter for the Greek authorities. If requested, the current second programme can be extended or a third programme may be implemented, he said. However, if the Greek authorities consider there is no need for a new programme, the country will have to turn to markets for funding.