Greece and its EU-IMF creditors will reach a deal to release the next tranche of its 86-billion-euro bailout "in the coming days", said a senior EU official on Monday after talks in Brussels.
"Staff level agreement to be finalised in coming days, including the contingency mechanism," said Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU Commission's vice-president in charge of the euro, following the meeting of the Eurogroup, the eurozone's 19 finance ministers.
The "contingency mechanism" refers to extra reforms that will kick in case Greece misses its spending targets in 2018.
Dombrovskis also tweeted that debt relief for Greece -- a key demand of the IMF but opposed by powerful Germany -- would be discussed by officials who would report back to the ministers at their next meeting on May 24.
Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem separately told a press conference that the Greek parliament's approval of fresh reforms in a tense vote late Sunday "paves the way for successful completion of the first review" of last July's bailout.
Dijssselbloem said earlier that he hoped to reach a deal on debt relief at the May 24 meeting.
Greece and its EU-IMF creditors will reach a deal to release the next tranche of its 86-billion-euro bailout “in the coming days”, said a senior EU official on Monday after talks in Brussels.
“Staff level agreement to be finalised in coming days, including the contingency mechanism,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU Commission’s vice-president in charge of the euro, following the meeting of the Eurogroup, the eurozone’s 19 finance ministers.
The “contingency mechanism” refers to extra reforms that will kick in case Greece misses its spending targets in 2018.
Dombrovskis also tweeted that debt relief for Greece — a key demand of the IMF but opposed by powerful Germany — would be discussed by officials who would report back to the ministers at their next meeting on May 24.
Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem separately told a press conference that the Greek parliament’s approval of fresh reforms in a tense vote late Sunday “paves the way for successful completion of the first review” of last July’s bailout.
Dijssselbloem said earlier that he hoped to reach a deal on debt relief at the May 24 meeting.
