ECB eases Greek minds with increased emergency aid – nrc.nl

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The European Central Bank’s emergency aid ceiling for Greece with 900 million euros raised.

That made bank president Mario Draghi announced today at a press conference in Frankfurt. In a week, the ECB will reassess the situation. Increasing the support fund ELA means that Greek banks have for a week more money so the Greek ATMs can be provisioned and Greek citizens can continue to withdraw money.

closed Mondays agreement between the European creditors and Prime Tsipras was tonight approved by the Greek parliament. The European Commission also announced that there will be a bridging loan of 7 billion euros, which enables Athens able to repay the IMF and the ECB.

According to NRC economics editor Menno Tamminga sees it as a rational choice ECB.

“What the ECB has said, in effect, is that the value of the Greek collateral to receive emergency assistance now to be higher. The bridge loan is there and the agreement in Brussels by the Greek Parliament. These are all positive signs for the creditworthiness of the Greeks. “

The banks in Greece over two weeks close, partly because the ECB did not want to further increase the ceiling for emergency assistance. The 900 million euro over the next week to the Greek banks will be Tamminga seen as a positive gesture, but nothing more than that.

“It soothes tempers in Greece a bit. Greek banks regain some air, but this money should not think they can open again tomorrow. Before the banks closed were recorded billions every day, so this additional 900 million is in that sense a drop in the ocean “

Draghi:. More integration required in euro

During the press conference, Draghi denied that the bank crisis in Greece would be facilitated by the ECB. It Draghi said the crisis in Greece shows that the euro area is fragile and that greater integration is needed.

“The monetary union is not perfect and so vulnerable, so that does not yield all the benefits we could achieve. In the future we get to go towards further integration. “

Longer time to sell Greek state assets

In addition to Draghi’s message on the ceiling, there was more good news for Athens. Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem left shortly after the publication of the ECB that the sale of Greek state assets is spread out over a longer period.

In the deal that was signed Monday in Brussels is a fund which included the sale of Greek state assets is collected. The fund should ultimately serve to reduce the Greek public debt.