Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos ... the country is struggling to restore its finances. Photo: ReutersAfter a two-hour conference call on the weekend, the 17 euro zone ministers said they would sign off on an €8.7 billion ($11.7 billion) loan that had been expected as part of a €110 billion package agreed last year.
The board of the International Monetary Fund is expected to approve its current contribution, €3.3 billion, in the coming days.
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Without the loans, the Greek government faced the prospect of insolvency within weeks.The euro zone ministers' decision followed two votes in Greece's parliament to approve a tough austerity package, a condition for international assistance.
But, with Greece struggling to restore its finances, European finance ministers also need to put together a second package of loans to help it through 2014.
This is expected to be €80 billion to €90 billion. Although it was discussed on Saturday, the ministers gave few details, and an official briefed on the talks, but not authorised to speak publicly, said completing the new bailout would ''not be easy''. ''They are going to have to work really hard and we don't expect an agreement before the next meeting of the euro zone ministers on July 11, and possibly not before September,'' the official said.
Greece's finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, called the ministers' action ''a development that boosts our country's credibility on a global level''.
The New York Times
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/world/eu-ministers-keep-greece-on-finance-drip-20110703-1gx3r.html#ixzz1R7T4oZEw
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