Press conference by the Minister of Finance in Brussels after the ECOFIN Council

These are bilateral loans from ten EU member countries and together with the 5,5 billion euro that we received from the IMF a few days ago this makes up the first tranche of the 110 billion euro support package that Greece has agreed on with its European partners, the ECB and the IMF.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to update my colleagues in the Eurogroup on the implementation of the economic and financial program that we are committed to. The program is on track. The budget in the first four months of the year shows a reduction in the deficit exceeding 40%; 41,8% to be precise. Furthermore, parliament has already passed the main elements of the additional measures that we agreed on with the Commission, the ECB and the IMF. The rest of the measures are underway and will be executed on time over the coming months.

We also had the opportunity in Ecofin today to discuss the Commission's proposals for a system of budgetary assessment in the various EU countries. On Friday, in the high level group chaired by President Van Rompuy, we will have the opportunity to discuss the mandate given to this group by the Heads of State and Government further.

Question: How much would you like to borrow in total and when do you expect to receive the next tranche of aid (this is not answered)?

G. Papaconstantinou: The program has been designed so that Greece is able to stay away from the debt-capital markets through 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. We don't expect this to be the case. We want to come back to the markets much sooner than that. The exact date will depend on the conditions in the international markets.

Question: Do you think the austerity measures that you announced are enough or there is room for more cuts?

G. Papaconstantinou: We have announced measures for 2010 which including the previous ones announced, are close to 9 percentage points of GDP. Let me remind you that we have increased VAT by 4 percentage points, excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol and fuel by roughly 5%. We have reduced nominal wages in the public sector by roughly 14% on average and reduced pensions by 9%. I think that this shows the very, very significant sacrifice, which the Greek government is asking from its citizens. And in that sense, these measures are more than enough to attain the deficit reduction target, which is just above 8% by the end of this year.

Question: It has been more than a week since the new mechanism was announced. The market has stabilized this week. Do you think that this is proof that the mechanism is working?

G. Papaconstantinou: The market is beginning to stabilize and this is good news. I think that it will continue to do so. It is clear that the discussion we had yesterday on finalizing the mechanism for financial support at the European level, beyond Greece, as a broader mechanism, will also be very helpful. The details provided helped the markets realise that there is a clear willingness and commitment on the part of the Eurozone and non-Eurozone countries to help those countries that are in need - as long as they do what is called for and pursue fiscal consolidation and structural reforms that have been agreed on in the context of Eurogroup and Ecofin.