Joint Statement following meeting between Greek Minister for Finance Christos Staikouras and ESM Managing Director Klaus Regling

Greece’s Finance Minister Mr Christos Staikouras visited today ESM headquarters in Luxembourg for a meeting with ESM Managing Director Klaus Regling, ahead of the Eurogroup meeting that will take place in Luxembourg on 17 June. It was a very constructive meeting. They discussed recent developments in the Greek economy and the euro area as a whole, and future prospects.

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Regling stated “Since Minister Staikouras took office we have met regularly and have kept close cooperation. I visited Athens in May, my first official trip after travel restrictions due to the pandemic eased. We continued this dialogue today, ahead of the Eurogroup meeting that will take important decisions related to debt relief measures for the country. Greece has come a long way in the last decade and its economy can again grow strongly after the challenging circumstances of the Covid-19 crisis.”

Mr Staikouras stated “Today’s meeting with Mr. Regling and the extremely useful discussion that we had reconfirms the systematic, productive and mutually beneficial cooperation that we have established. Greece has tackled the health crisis and its impact on the economy and the society to the best of its abilities, as it has been internationally recognized. We still have difficulties and challenges ahead. However, the approval of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan ‘Greece 2.0’, a series of positive indices and recent evolutions inspire optimism concerning the prospects of a strong recovery and of achieving high, sustainable growth in the post-Covid-19 era.”