Eurogroup, 24/05/2018, 24 May 2018

Main results

The Eurogroup meeting took place in two formats - the first part was a regular meeting of the euro area ministers, and the second part was a meeting of the ministers of 27 EU member states.

Eurogroup meeting in regular format

Greece's economic adjustment programme

The Eurogroup was informed about the staff-level agreement concluded by the institutions and the Greek authorities on 19 May. The focus is now on Greece's successful implementation of the agreed reforms, ahead of the June Eurogroup meeting.

The Eurogroup also continued its discussions on possible debt measures in preparation for the decisions that are planned for the Eurogroup meeting in June.

Greece's economic adjustment programme is now under its fourth and final review . The programme's formal expiry date is 20 August 2018.

• Statement by European Institutions on staff-level agreement reached with Greek authorities (19 May 2018)
• Greece: the third economic adjustment programme (background information)
• Timeline: the third financial assistance programme for Greece (background information)

Economic situation in the euro area: European Commission spring forecast

The European Commission presented its 2018 spring forecast, published on 3 May.

• European Economic Forecast. Spring 2018

Thematic discussion on growth and jobs: spending reviews

The Eurogroup held a follow-up discussion on spending reviews, this time focusing on the challenge of ensuring ownership when conducting spending reviews. Irish and Spanish ministers shared their countries' experiences and lessons learned from their recently completed spending reviews.

The Eurogroup had previously discussed this topic in June last year, and in September 2016, when it adopted common principles for improving expenditure allocation.

Spending reviews help governments detect areas where savings and efficiency gains could be made and where spending could bring greater value for money.

• Quality of public finances: Enhancing ownership in spending reviews (technical background note by the European Commission)

Meeting in inclusive format

Banking union and European Stability Mechanism (ESM)

Finance ministers from 27 EU member states exchanged views on the completion of the banking union and the future role of the ESM. They took stock of the progress made so far and discussed the way forward in preparation for the upcoming leaders' meeting in June.