Answer given by Mr Moscovici on behalf of the Commission
25.7.2016
In November 2012 the Eurogroup informally agreed to transfer to Greece amounts equivalent to the profits made by national central banks on Greek bond holdings, conditional on ‘a strong implementation by the country of the agreed reform measures in the programme period’. Member States agreed that these amounts ‘will be disbursed in the context of the next successful review following the end of the second quarter, thus in the context of the first European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) disbursement after 1 July’. Consequently, Member States transferred EUR 2 billion in Securities Market Programme (SMP) profits to Greece in 2013.
There was no further successful review concluded after 1 July 2014 and until the lapse of the EFSF programme on 30 June 2015, when all programme-related arrangements expired.[1] There is therefore no outstanding political commitment by Member States to disburse amounts equivalent to Agreement on Net Financial Assets (ANFA) and SMP profits to Greece since the expiration of the EFSF programme.
On 25 May 2016, the Eurogroup expressed an expectation to implement a possible set of measures following the successful implementation of the newly established European Stability Mechanism (ESM) programme. These measures would be ‘implemented if an update of the debt sustainability analysis produced by the institutions at the end of the programme shows they are needed to meet the agreed GFN (gross-financing-needs) benchmark, subject to a positive assessment from the institutions and the Eurogroup on programme implementation’. One measure included was the restoration of the transfer of ANFA and SMP profits to Greece (as of budget year 2017) to act as an ESM internal buffer to reduce future gross financing needs.
- [1] This was also noted by the Eurogroup in its statement of 27.6.2015: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/06/27-eurogroup-statement-greece