The president of the Economic Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday said a previous day’s decision by the Eurogroup to disburse only 1.1 billion euros was a negative development for the economy.
The 1.1-billion-euro figure is a portion of a 2.8-billion-euro sub-tranche in bailout loans left over from the first review of the Greek program in the spring.
Chamber president Constantinos Kollias said the decision will hit Greece’s already crisis-battered economy, especially given the fact that the money that was not freed up – 1.7 billion euros – is destined to clear net arrears owed by the state, primarily to the private sector.
A Eurogroup communiqué cited the fact that data for the Greek state’s clearance of previous arrears in September was not yet available, something that the government later termed as “technical issues”.
