EU finance ministers to discuss Greek debt crisis

Finance ministers of the 17 member Eurogroup will meet in Luxembourg later on Monday to discuss the debt crisis in Greece. EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn will inform the Eurogroup about the progress of the ongoing fifth review of the implementation of the Greek adjustment programme, said an European Commission statement. Last week, the Troika (EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund), decided to resume the mission to Greece and asked its teams to return to Athens and to resume policy discussions. The troika will review if the Greek government is implementing the strict austerity measures agreed with the EU and IMF. The Eurogroup will hold an additional meeting as soon as possible in October to discuss the situation in Greece and consider the disbursement of the next tranche, on condition that the Troika delivers a positive finding of the review, noted the statement. If the verification is positive the Eurogroup is expected to release the next instalment payment of 8 billion Euro to Greece from the 110 billion loan the EU and IMF agreed to give last year. Meanwhile, Economic and Finance Ministers of the 27-member European Union will meet in Luxembourg on Tuesday to discuss the general economic situation in Europe. They will also prepare for the G20 Finance Ministers and Governors meeting of 13-16 October in Paris.