Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Monday (30 October) that the government’s plan to put the public finances in order was working and that the country would be out of the bailout programme in August 2018.

Greek press reported that Tsipras expressed his optimism about the third assessment of the bailout programme saying that it will be concluded soon and that the prerequisites under discussion with the lenders will not cause “surprises”.

“Our plan brings results […] the country will be out of a memorandum in August 2018, and even those who were more cautious in the past will have to recognise it,” Alexis Tsipras was quoted as saying.

Business chief: Greece is politically stable and now needs productive investment Greece is politically and economically stable and now it’s the time for productive investment that will create jobs and increase the country’s GDP, Greek business leader Konstantinos Michalos told EURACTIV.com in an interview.

In the meantime, the Board of Directors of the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) announced yesterday the disbursement of a €800m sub-tranche to Greece as part of the second assessment of the bailout programme, which was concluded earlier this year.

The money is earmarked to cover the government’s outstanding debt to the private sector.

“I am satisfied to note the Greek government’s continued commitment to clear arrears. The amount of arrears reduced in recent months means that Greece has overperformed the target set in the programme, and this should have a positive impact on the country’s economy,” ESM Managing Director Klaus Regling said in a statement, expressing his hope the third review to be completed in a “timely manner”.