The President of the Eurogroup, Mario Centeno, expressed on Thursday his concern over risks to European economic growth posed from outside in particular by the US policy.

Speaking at a press conference after a meeting of the 19 Eurogroup finance ministers this evening, he said they discussed the developments of the euro area economy.

"Growth and employment both picked up strongly in 2017, right across the euro area, and this also helped to keep deficits down.

The Commission's Spring Forecast shows growth will remain broad-based in 2018 and 2019," he said.

"There are, however, substantial risks to this outlook, mainly coming from outside the euro area. In particular, the policy stance of the US administration is a matter of concern.

In times like these, prudent domestic policies are essential and so is close co-ordination at the European level," he added.

On Greece, he said "we've heard some good news from the institutions. They have reached a staff-level agreement with the Greek government in Athens last week. We welcomed this package."

At their next meeting, in Luxembourg in June, the Eurogroup ministers will decide on all that is needed to ensure a successful exit of Greece from the EU bailout program by August, adding "this is our top priority regarding Greece."

News Source: KUNA