EUROGROUP: MINISTERS REPEAT THAT STRONG EURO IS GOOD FOR THE EURO-ZONE.

Greece's Finance Minister and the acting President of the Eurogroup, Nikos Christodoulakis, reaffirmed on June 2 that "a strong Euro is in the interests of the Euro-zone and the global economy". The Eurogroup also "reaffirmed that a strong Euro contributes to containing inflationary pressures" and increasing domestic demand and purchasing power. Discussions within the Eurogroup on the economic situation had concluded at the previous meeting in May that the likelihood of a relaunch of the economy from the second half-year is "increasing". Notwithstanding, at the June 2 meeting, Greece's Finance Minister acknowledged that the pace of the recovery may be influenced by the state of the labour market and further consolidation of business balance sheets.

As in the past, Euro-zone Ministers acknowledged that internal demand largely depends on an improvement in confidence. Mr Christodoulakis therefore called for...