Enhanced surveillance of Greece ends on 20 August

The European Commission will not prolong the enhanced surveillance of Greece once it expires on 20 August. Following exchanges with the Greek authorities, including at the Eurogroup meeting of 16 June, the Commission acknowledges that Greece has delivered on the bulk of the policy commitments made to the Eurogroup upon its exit from the economic adjustment programme in June 2018, and that it has achieved effective reform implementation, even under the challenging circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, by Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. The Commission also notes that, as a result of Greece’s efforts, the resilience of the Greek economy has substantially improved and the risks of spill-over effects on the Euro area economy have diminished significantly. Hence, maintaining Greece under enhanced surveillance is no longer justified. The monitoring of the country’s economic, fiscal and financial situation will continue in the context of the post-programme surveillance (PPS) and the European Semester. The monitoring of the outstanding reform commitments will be undertaken in the context of the first PPS report to be issued in November 2022, which could serve as a basis for a Eurogroup decision on the final tranche of debt relief measures agreed in June 2018. Major reforms and investments are also foreseen in the Greek recovery and resilience plan. The Commission welcomes Greece’s achievements and its commitment to keep on carrying out reforms beyond the end of enhanced surveillance. Executive Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People, Valdis Dombrovskis, and Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, have already informed the Greek authorities. Their letter to Greek Finance Minister Christos Staikouras, and his reply, have been published online.