Debt restructuring measures for Greece could be finalized soon, Eurogroup president says

Dursun Aydemir | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

New Eurogroup President Portuguese Finance Minister Mario Centeno gestures during a press conference on his election as new Eurogroup chief at the European Council in Brussels, Belgium on December 4, 2017.

Greece and its creditors appear to be one step closer to reaching a final agreement on the restructuring of the country’s huge debt pile, according to Eurogroup President Mario Centeno.

Centeno told CNBC on Thursday that although there are still a “few issues” regarding Greece’s public debt, European creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Athens are inching towards a resolution.

“We are in a good position to finalize the program with Greece,” Centeno told CNBC’s Joumanna Bercetche at the World Bank’s and IMF’s Spring Meetings 2018 conference in Washington.

“There are a few issues on the table that relate to the debt relief measures,” Centeno said. “We are working with all the institutions to reach an agreement and my sense is that indeed we are much closer to close the gaps then we were before.”

Restructuring the Greek debt has been one of the most controversial issues in the country’s third bailout program. At first, European creditors did not want to forego Greece’s debt, while at a later stage their estimations were different from the IMF’s — meaning that they haven’t managed to agree on how far the measures will have to go to make Greece’s debt more sustainable.

Greece is set to end its third bailout program this summer.