Economy of the European Union

Greece has no need to tap the eurozone's pandemic credit line at present, Finance Minister Christos Staikouras said on Friday.

"Based on current data, Greece does not need to resort to the ESM's (European Stability Mechanism) credit lines since the government has made and continues to make prudent use of the country's own resources," he told an Economist conference.

The creditors' decision for the change in the use of proceeds from Greek bond holdings (SMPs and ANFAs), switching from servicing the debt to investments, as the government has requested, will be made later in the year.

The European Central Bank has acquired 4.69 billion euros of Greek bonds since it launched its emergency bond-buying program in late March to support the eurozone in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

The government is seeking to ride the new momentum created by the health crisis in Europe, at the expense of the once unique recipe of austerity, while the first-quarter fiscal data compiled by the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) indicated an annual deterioration of 1.3 billion euros.

Foreign economists say Greece needs to use the cash it will get from the European Commission's Recovery Fund to strengthen the healthcare and education systems, implement investments and growth policies, cut taxes, support entrepreneurship and contain the rebound of unemployment.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday that if the European Union eventually moves towards a joint debt issuance to finance a recovery program it will be "a huge step" for the bloc.

"I fear German power less than her inactivity," remarked Poland's Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski at the height of the eurozone crisis. More than Germany leading Europe, Europe must fear a Germany that eschews its leadership responsibilities.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday that if the European Union eventually moves towards a joint debt issuance to finance a recovery program it will be "a huge step" for the bloc.

Greece is expected to have a net allocation of 33.4 billion euros from a European recovery fund, while the country's contribution to the fund will total 10.1 billion euros for a gross receipt of 43.5 billion euros, according to a plan presented by the European Commission on Wednesday.

The European Commission will on Wednesday unveil a plan to help the EU economy recover from its coronavirus slump with a mix of grants, loans and guarantees exceeding 1 trillion euros that raised controversy even before it was announced.