The Memorandum of Understanding milestones for January, agreed between Greece and the Troika, have been achieved. The Eurogroup in particular welcomed the adoption of an income tax reform by the Greek authorities. Mr Jeroen Dijsselbloem has been appointed new president.

The Eurogroup welcomed the achievement made by Greece so far. In particular, an income tax reform has been adopted and end-user electricity prices for low-voltage customers as well as the levy on renewable energy sources have been adjusted. Ministers welcomed the commitment of the Greek government to adopt a simplification of the income tax code by spring. In November 2011, the Eurogroup welcomed the resolve of the Greek authorities to bring the programme back on track.

The Eurogroup also highlighted that it looks forward to the disbursement later this month of €2 billion of the second instalment under the second economic adjustment programme for Greece, to be formally decided by the EFSF Board of Directors. Furthermore, the Eurogroup recalls that a further amount to cover bank recapitalisation and resolution costs of €7.2 billion will also be paid out to Greece following the formal decision by the EFSF Board of Directors.

On the other hand, Jeroen Dijsselbloem was appointed as Eurogroup president for a term of two and a half years. Mr Dijsselbloem is Finance Minister of The Netherlands, and will retain his post whilst chairing the Eurogroup. He succeeds Jean-Claude Juncker, who has chaired the Eurogroup since 1 January 2005 and was its first-ever permanent president. Prior to Mr Juncker, the Eurogroup was chaired on a rotating basis. Nowadays the president is elected by a majority of its members.