LOC01:43
22:43 GMT
BRUSSELS, June 16 (KUNA) -- The finance ministers of the 19-member Eurogroup discussed during their meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday Croatia admission to the group.
They recommended that Croatia become the 20th member of the euro area, said the Eurogroup in a statement this evening.
"This is a very well-deserved achievement for Croatia, It demonstrates that the euro, which this year marks its 20th anniversary as a physical currency, is a union that is growing and that will become stronger by growing," Eurogroup President Paschal Donohoe said in press statements after the meeting.
Further, the Eurogroup discussed the fourteenth enhanced surveillance report on Greece and welcomed the assessment by European institutions that the necessary conditions are in place to confirm the release of the seventh tranche worth 748 million euro (USD 789 million).
The Eurogroup welcomed European Commission's intention not to prolong enhanced surveillance after its expiration on 20 August 2022, given the successful delivery of the bulk of Greece's policy commitments.
"Given the progress that has been made by the Greek government and the Greek people, we welcomed today the intention of the European Commission not to prolong the enhanced surveillance of the Greek economy after the expiry of the programme at the end of August," said Donohoe.
Ministers discussed the developments concerning the Banking Union, and adopted a statement on the future of the Banking Union.
"We agreed a plan today for very concrete actions that will further strengthen our Banking Union. We agreed that we will strengthen the common framework for bank crisis management and also for the rules governing the use of national deposit guarantee funds," he said.
Moreover, Slovenia presented the policy priorities of the new Slovenian government when it takes over the EU Presidency on 1 July. (pickup previous)
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