At their meeting on 3 October in Luxembourg, the finance ministers of the euro area postponed a decision on the next disbursement of financial aid for Greece, but firmly ruled out any possibility of the country defaulting or leaving the euro area.

Chairman of the Eurogroup Jean-Claude Juncker confirmed that the Eurogroup ministers "welcomed" the additional "bold measures" taken recently by Greece.

He said that the Eurogroup had postponed its debate concerning the disbursement of the next tranche to be paid to Greece until the Commission, in conjunction with the European Central Bank and the IMF, had analysed those measures and presented the findings in an upcoming compliance report.

Mr Juncker stated, however, that no one in the Eurogroup envisaged a default by Greece. "Everything will be done to avoid this and it will be avoided." He added that "nobody was advocating the exit of Greece from the euro area. I have to firmly deny all these rumours".

"I would like to reassure you that, despite the change in the schedule, Greece will be in a position to meet its financial obligations," said Mr Juncker. He said that the final decision by the Eurogroup on the next disbursement was likely to be taken in October.

In addition, the euro area finance ministers reached an agreement on the conditions for collateral that would be paid to member states that request it in exchange for their contributions to the future programme for Greece financed by the EFSF (European Financial Stability Facility).

This issue had been discussed due to the demand by Finland for collateral in exchange for its contribution. Finland had made this demand earlier this year and such an option was later considered by several other euro area member states too.
Statement by President Barroso on the final agreement on the economic governance package

Today, we have turned a page. The agreement in the ECOFIN Council marks the end of a year-long debate and the start of a new era of more robust economic governance in Europe.

I am especially pleased that the final text, notably the solutions agreed for reinforced governance and discipline, is so close to what the Commission proposed back in September 2010.

The European Union, and in particular the euro area, will now see in the new year with greatly strengthened rules for ensuring financial stability and balanced growth – the essential foundations for efforts to increase our competitiveness and spur job creation.