Eurogroup, 22/04/2016, 22 April 2016

Main results

Greece: state of play

The institutions and the Greek Minister for Finance, Euclid Tsakalotos, briefed the Eurogroup on the state of play in the ongoing first review of Greece's macroeconomic adjustment programme.

For the review to be completed, the institutions and the Greek authorities should reach an agreement on a comprehensive package of policy reforms to be implemented by Greece.

Although significant progress has been made in recent weeks, further work is still needed on a number of policy areas, including fiscal strategy and the privatisation fund.

The Eurogroup urged the Greek authorities to swiftly agree with the institutions on the reform package which should also cover issues such as contingency measures and non-performing loans.

The Eurogroup is hopeful that agreement will be possible in the next few days and, if so, stands ready to reconvene in an extraordinary meeting to agree on the next steps towards the closing of the first review.

• Greece: the third economic adjustment programme
• Timeline: the third economic adjustment programme for Greece

Thematic discussion on growth and jobs: national insolvency frameworks

The Eurogroup continued its exchange of views on national insolvency frameworks and their application, which differ widely in the euro area member states. The discussion was held in line with the 2015 and 2016 Council recommendations to the euro area, issued in the context of the European Semester, the EU's annual policy coordination exercise.

Well-functioning insolvency frameworks are indispensable for addressing the debt overhang and improving banks' ability to provide credit to the economy. The issue is particularly relevant for the euro area, as its individual economies are prone to spill-over effects.

Ministers agreed on a set of common principles which could serve as guidance for improving these national frameworks. The principles focus primarily on the speed, predictability and cost-effectiveness of the frameworks.

• Eurogroup statement on national insolvency frameworks, 22 April 2016
• Eurogroup meeting, 14 January 2016
• Insolvency frameworks in the euro area: efficiency principles and benchmarking

Presentation by the Chair of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM)

The Chair of the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM), Danièle Nouy, presented the SSM's annual report.

She also informed the Eurogroup about the ongoing work to harmonise supervisory options and national discretions in the euro area banking sector in order to ensure a more level playing field.

• ECB annual report on its supervisory activities in 2015
• Single supervisory mechanism (background information)

Update on fiscal surveillance

The European Commission presented the main results of the April 2016 notifications issued by Eurostat in the context of excessive deficit procedure (EDP).

In 2015, government deficits and debt in the euro area stood on average at 2.1% and 90.7% of GDP respectively.

Finance ministers will look further into the fiscal surveillance issue and possible steps under the EDP in the coming months, against the background of the forthcoming 2016 spring forecast by the European Commission and the submission of stability programmes and national reform programmes by the member states in the context of the 2016 European Semester.

• Government deficit and debt data for 2015 - notification by Eurostat