BRUSSELS (MNI) – The European Commission expects that the next
tranche of EMU-IMF loans for Greece, worth E9 billion, will be disbursed
in September as planned, but it can’t say exactly when it will formally
approve the deal, a spokesman said on Thursday.
Earlier Thursday, the European Commission, European Central Bank
and International Monetary Fund said Greece has made a “strong start”
with its austerity plan, paving the way for the debt-ridden country to
receive a second tranche of loans.
“The next tranche of aid needs to be approved by the Commission,
the Eurogroup and the IMF,” the Commission spokesman told reporters at a
press conference.
He said he couldn’t say the exact date that the Commission would
approve the deal but that the next Commission meeting was planned for
September.
“The outcome of the mission that has ended today in Athens is
positive…We would expect on the basis of that that the disbursement
will be made on track (in September),” he said.
–Brussels: 0032 487 (0) 32 803 665, echarlton@marketnews.com
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