Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou was in Brussels on May 17- 18 to participate in an ECOFIN Council meeting on the strengthening of economic policy coordination in the EU area and the general principles which must shape the strategies for overcoming the crisis. 

Papacostantinou briefed his counterparts on the implementation of a series of legislative measures devised to reduce the country’s fiscal deficit involving the curtailment of wages and pensions in the public sector and the increase of the VAT rate that has led to a budget deficit reduction of 41,8%. 

He confirmed that Greece received €14.5 billion from the European Commission via the European Central Bank (ECB), as the first tranche of the €110 billion support package agreed on with Greece’s European partners, the ECB and the IMF. 

The minister assured the Eurogroup that Greece will be able to achieve the desired fiscal consolidation and structural reforms and in July the country will report on the implementation of the measures agreed and figures concerning the Greek fiscal deficit. 

Source: GREEK NEWS AGENDA issued by the Secretariat Genera

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