Greece to be given next tranche of loan

€9bn to be made available, of which €6.5bn will come from eurozone governments.

Eurozone finance ministers are expected to approve the release of the second portion of an €110 billion emergency loan programme for Greece when they meet on 7 September. This will make €9bn available, of which €6.5bn will come from eurozone governments and €2.5bn from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Officials from the Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank went to Greece between 26 July and 5 August to evaluate how well the country was implementing the package of economic reforms it had agreed to in exchange for financial support. The mission concluded that Greece had made a “strong start” to its reform programme – a view endorsed by the European Commission on 19 August.

Questions for Slovakia

Ministers are also expected on 7 September to question Ivan Mikloš, Slovakia’s finance minister, over the Slovak parliament’s vote, on 11 August, rejecting the country’s participation in the loan programme. The move was criticised by other governments and by Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, who described it as a “breach of solidarity within the euro area”.

Iveta Radic?ová, Slovakia’s prime minister, has called on Rehn, who will attend the finance ministers’ meeting, to apologise for what she sees as an affront to democracy. In July, Radic?ová said that Slovakia was too poor to help Greece.

Ministers will discuss whether and how to reallocate Slovakia’s €816 million contribution to the loan programme. The Commission has said that Slovakia’s withdrawal has no practical implications for the operation of the programme.

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