The European Stability Mechanism’s (ESM) report for 2016 – issued on the same day as a crucial Eurogroup meeting on the Greek issue – first noted that Greece remains the only active program country receiving loans from its coffers, evidence of “how far Europe has come since the peak of the crisis.”
The statement was followed by a negative reference to Greece’s course since 2015.
“The country (Greece) had to tackle bigger problems than others to modernise its economy,
and the interruption of this process in early 2015 was extremely costly. But Greece
too can stand on its own as long as it implements the reforms agreed with creditors.”
