Daily Management Review

After 12 Years, Greece Will Leave The EU's 'Enhanced Surveillance' Framework


08/10/2022




After 12 Years, Greece Will Leave The EU's 'Enhanced Surveillance' Framework
Greece will leave the European Union's so-called enhanced monitoring framework on August 20, its finance minister announced on Wednesday, giving the country more leeway in economic policymaking.
 
The framework has been monitoring Greek economic developments and policy since 2018, after Athens departed three international bailouts totaling more than 260 billion euros from the European Union and the IMF between 2010 and 2015.
 
"After 12 years ... a difficult chapter for our country comes to a close," said the minister, Christos Staikouras. "Greece returns to a European normality and will no longer be an exception in the euro zone."
 
Athens has fulfilled the majority of its policy commitments and reforms, and its exit from the framework on August 20 was confirmed by a letter from EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis and Economy Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni, he noted.
 
Greece's exit from heightened surveillance will mean greater leeway in implementing economic policy, bringing the country closer to regaining "investment grade" status, according to Staikouras.
 
Greece has depended completely on the markets for its financial needs since leaving the bailouts in 2018.
 
The surveillance system was meant to assure the continuing implementation of actions to address potential sources of economic trouble as well as structural reforms to enable long-term economic growth.
 
(Source:www.reuters.com)