Economy of the European Union

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) on Tuesday announced the transfer of 644.42 million euros to Greece in a post on the ESM's Twitter account.

Ljubljana – The Fiscal Council has warned that the latest legislative stimulus package contains certain provisions that may worsen the structure of public finances, including the proposal for simplified retirement and one-off aid to population groups not directly affected by the coronavirus epidemic.

The Greek credit sector has received a cheap liquidity boost this year of 40 billion euros from the European Central Bank that has flooded the market with cash aimed at supporting enterprises and households in the face of the pandemic.

Finance Minister Christos Staikouras on Monday welcomed a decision by a Eurogroup meeting to ease the Greek debt to the tune of 767 million euros.

As expected, Monday's Eurogroup teleconference approved the new measures to ease the Greek debt to the tune of 767 million euros on the basis of the eighth enhanced surveillance report on Greece after its bailout.

The latest enhanced surveillance report of the European Commission on Greece is "very positive," according to a senior official at the European Union's executive arm, and "should constitute the basis for the approval of the fourth tranche for the easing of Greece's debt."

The government is considering using some of the resources from the Next Generation EU fund as tax and financing incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises, according to sources.

Bank deposits recorded a new 2.5-billion-euro increase last month, as the economic support measures are helping to strengthen the liquidity of households and enterprises, according to data issued on Thursday by the Bank of Greece. The figures showed that deposits at the end of October amounted to €155.7 billion, up 1.7% in just one month from €153.1 billion at end-September.

The European Commission has approved an amendment to the Bulgarian Innovation and Competitiveness operational program, allowing the mobilization of EUR 511 million from the European Regional Development Fund and the Cohesion Fund to help the Bulgarian economy cope with the adverse effects of the Coronavirus crisis.

The European Union unveiled plans Wednesday to fight unfair competition from foreign companies backed by powerful non-EU trade rivals amid China's growing influence in the bloc's single market.