Saturday, February 21, 2015

Eurogroup, Greece agree on bailout extension for four months

Eurozone finance ministers and Greece on Friday agreed on a final agreement over the bailout extension by four months, Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem said during a press conference.

Eurozone finance ministers discussed the request by the Greek government for an extension of the financial assistance for six months which had been submitted on Thursday.

Dijsselbloem said a draft statement by eurozone finance ministers ultimately approved extending Greece's bailout by four months.

The extension would bridge the time for discussions on a possible follow-up arrangement between the Eurogroup, the institutions and Greece, according to the Eurogroup statement.

Dijsselbloem added Greece should submit by Monday a letter listing what reform measures it must adopt to the Eurogroup as commitments underpinned.

The institutions will provide a first view whether this is sufficiently comprehensive to be a valid starting point for a successful conclusion of the review.

"This list will be further specified and then agreed with the institutions by the end of April," said the statement.

Dijsselbloem said Friday's agreement was a "first step in this process of rebuilding trust" between Greece and its European creditors.

Discussions were taking place in the context of the upcoming expiry of the current financial assistance to Greece on 28 February.

If international markets refused to finance Greece's government, It is said that the country could exit from the single currency.

Earlier, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker saw Greek request as a positive sign, saying which could pave the way for a reasonable compromise.

Friday's meeting is the third time in ten days that ministers have met to resolve the Greek debt problem. At last meeting the Eurogroup agreed that the best way forward is for Greece to seek an extension of the bailout.
Ministers were unable to reach the agreement on the bailout program on Monday after the Greek authorities rejected the draft statement proposed by the Eurogroup.

   Source:Xinhua - globaltimes.cn
21/2/15
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4 comments :

  1. Zone euro : le plan d'aide à la Grèce prolongé de quatre mois sous conditions...

    Les ministres des Finances de la zone euro ont accepté vendredi de prolonger de quatre mois leur plan d'aide à la Grèce, au lieu des six mois demandés. Athènes a dû s'engager à poursuivre les réformes pour éviter la faillite.

    Un accord a été trouvé vendredi 20 février entre les gouvernements de la zone euro et Athènes sur l'extension du programme de financement de la Grèce, après d'intenses négociations à Bruxelles......................http://www.france24.com/fr/20150220-accord-eurogroupe-grece-prolongation-quatre-mois-aide-financiere-varoufakis-crise/
    21/2/15

    ReplyDelete
  2. Reaktionen aus Athen: "Die griechische Regierung ist in der Realität angekommen"...

    Griechische Journalisten und Politiker reagieren erleichtert auf die Einigung im Schuldenstreit. Es gehe nun "um eine neue Phase der Stabilität und des Wachstums", hoffen Regierungsanhänger. Andere sind deutlich skeptischer.

    Alle hatten sich auf eine weitere lange Nacht vorbereitet, dann ging es überraschend schnell: Griechenland und die übrigen Finanzminister der Eurozone haben sich in einer gemeinsamen Erklärung auf die Fortführung der EU-Hilfspakete für zunächst vier Monate verständigt. Die beteiligten Minister kommentierten den Durchbruch nüchtern, von Euphorie keine Spur...................http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/einigung-mit-griechenland-kommentare-der-griechischen-presse-a-1019769.html
    21/2/15

    ReplyDelete
  3. Greece accepts creditor conditions in 'trust-building' deal...

    "It's all about trust," Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Eurogroup, said in the press conference when he announced the agreement with the Greek government in Brussels on Friday.

    But, for the moment, trust is not a noticeable element in the agreement, observers said.

    The agreement avoids the economic turmoil that experts agreed would have ensued without one, and is expected to put an end to the run on Greek banks. Whether the agreement will work in the long term remains a fraught question, as even the Eurogroup chiefs themselves made clear.

    "If we can reach agreement, this program will expire after the four month extension," explained Pierre Moscovici, "so we have a lot of work to do."

    The agreement to extend the bailout and provide liquidity for the Greek banking system will demand considerable efforts at economic reform by the Greek leftist government, which had previously rejected any reform program.

    The Eurogroup will review Greek reform proposals, which must be delivered on Monday, and decide if they are satisfactory. If they are satisfied, they will rule on a more detailed list of reforms to be delivered by April.

    "We can finally go to work and we all have to work closely together," insisted IMF managing director Christine Lagarde. "That is how we will build trust."..................http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/468592--greece-accepts-creditor-conditions-in-trust-building-deal
    21/2/15

    ReplyDelete
  4. Greece’s left-wing government insisted on Saturday it had avoided being “strangled” by the euro zone, which agreed in principle to extend a financial rescue deal as nervous savers pulled huge sums from Greek banks...

    Athens said the deal struck late on Friday in Brussels should calm Greeks who had feared capital controls might be imposed as a prelude to leaving the euro. But some weary voters questioned what their new leaders had achieved in weeks of testy exchanges with euro zone hardliners led by EU paymaster Germany.

    After often ill-tempered negotiations, Greece secured late on Friday a four-month extension to euro zone funding, which will avert bankruptcy and a euro exit, provided it comes up with promises of economic reforms by Monday.

    “We won time,” said government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis. “The Greek economy and the Greek government weren’t strangled, as was perhaps the original political plan by centres abroad and within the country,” he told Mega TV, without naming the euro zone hawks who forced the government into a climbdown at the Brussels talks............http://www.parikiaki.com/2015/02/greece-says-euro-zone-deal-won-time-as-cash-bled-from-banks/#sthash.8xv0p9LP.dpuf
    21/2/15

    ReplyDelete

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