Eurozone

European Union leaders on Friday urged the 19 countries that use the euro currency to quickly figure out how they would fund a joint budget that would seek to stabilize and strengthen the single currency zone.

Down and out less than a decade ago, Greece is this year's top performing eurozone bond market, enjoying inflows from investors dismayed by shrinking yields elsewhere and elevated political risk in Italy, the bloc's other high-yielding credit.

Greek sovereign bond yields posted a rapid decline on Wednesday despite the mild trend observed on other eurozone markets, a day after the strong rally on statements by European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi. This illustrates that investor sentiment toward Greek assets has changed, as they attract an increasing number of foreign portfolios.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker looked back on six milestones that "shaped the euro and European Union as we know it," making particular reference to Greece and the Greek crisis. 

A top-secret Grexit plan designed by the ECB, the EU and its financial mechanisms has been detailed in a new book entitled The Last Bluff and authored by Eleni Varvitsiots, the Brussels correspondent of the Athens daily Kathimerini Eleni Varvitsioti and Bloomberg's Viktoria Dendrinou.

European Stability Mechanism chief Klaus Regling reiterated on Thursday the eurozone's doubts over Greece achieving a primary budget surplus equal to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product after the handouts recently voted by Parliament.

The European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Greece's chief creditor, in a regular report on the Greek economy has warned Athens to fully implement all reforms agreed to in the bailout memorandums, including a 3.5 percent of GDP primary surplus until 2022.

The report coincides with the Bank of Greece's announcement that it projects a 2.9 percent primary surplus for 2019.

Eurozone creditors are concerned that Greek pension payments and social handouts and the scraping of already agreed tax reforms put the agreed primary surplus target at risk, the head of the eurozone bailout fund Klaus Regling said on Thursday.

Greece has made big progress in restoring sustainability to its public finances, strengthening the banking sector's resilience, and improving the economy's competitiveness last year but it needs to remain on track and adopt more growth-oriented policies, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) said in its annual country report on Thursday.

The next government in Greece will be the one to offer the necessary explanations to the Eurogroup about the outgoing administration's handouts, which appear to be leading the country toward a fiscal derailment and target shortfalls.