Eurogroup to Properly Reassess Greek Financial Assistance in December

The eurozone finance ministers will concentrate on financial relief program for Greece at their next meeting on December 5, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Monday.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — Dijsselbloem expressed his hope that the next meeting of the Eurogroup "will spend more time on Greece."

"We briefly took stock of the current situation… Cooperation between the institution and the Greek authority is reported to be fruitful, progress being made. The next meeting of the Eurogroup, we will spend more time on Greece," Dijsselbloem said.

The Eurogroup president added that by then the finance ministers would have more information on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) proposals for short-term debt restructuring measures.

Greece, still struggling with the consequences of the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, is the beneficiary of an ESM program with 31.7 billion euros (roughly $34.9 billion) disbursed to the country so far. As part of the earlier financial relief programs, Greece received two loans, of 52.9 billion euros under the Greek Loan Facility and 141.8 billion euros through the European Financial Stability Facility, the precursor to ESM.