Any further debt relief measures for Greece will be decided at the end of the current bailout program, Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem announced on Monday, severely dampening Athens' hopes that medium-term measures would be formalized this week.
Although he said he was "working" towards such an agreement, which is not final, such a development would come next year. The Dutch FinMin also disclosed that the IMF has requested more details over the extent of such debt relief before deciding on whether it will rejoin the Greek bailout as a lender.
"I expect and I'm working on a deal today, but it will not be the end deal. We have always said that the final, concrete decision on extra debt relief measures will come at the end of the program, which is next year ... "It is time for the IMF to come on board, to formally take a positive decision for an IMF program," Dijsselbloem said, adding: "But they have made quite clear what they would require for that so that's what we are going to work on today."
He also appeared confident that a Eurogroup decision will free up the latest tranches of bailout loans to Greece.
