BRUSSELS (AP) — The 17 European Union nations that use the euro have struck an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a program to reduce Greek debt and put Athens on the way to get the next installment of its much-needed bailout loans.
The so-called troika of the European Central Bank, IMF and the European Commission, which is the 27-country EU's executive arm, have twice agreed to bail out Greece, pledging a total of €240 billion ($310 billion) in rescue loans — of which the country has received about €150 billion ($195 billion) so far.
Greece is predicted to enter its sixth year of recession shortly and has a quarter of its workforce out of a job, and there had been fears it might be forced to drop out of the eurozone, destabilizing other countries in the process.
The talks have centered on trying to get Greece back on the path to sustainability by reaching an agreement on how the country's debt load can be reduced.
—A 15-year extension of the maturities of loans from other countries and the eurozone's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, and a deferral of interest payments by Greece on EFSF loans by 10 years.
[...] the finance ministers plan to hold another meeting, either in person or by telephone, to give final approval to the disbursement.
The so-called troika of the European Central Bank, IMF and the European Commission, which is the 27-country EU's executive arm, have twice agreed to bail out Greece, pledging a total of €240 billion ($310 billion) in rescue loans — of which the country has received about €150 billion ($195 billion) so far.
Greece is predicted to enter its sixth year of recession shortly and has a quarter of its workforce out of a job, and there had been fears it might be forced to drop out of the eurozone, destabilizing other countries in the process.
The talks have centered on trying to get Greece back on the path to sustainability by reaching an agreement on how the country's debt load can be reduced.
—A 15-year extension of the maturities of loans from other countries and the eurozone's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, and a deferral of interest payments by Greece on EFSF loans by 10 years.
[...] the finance ministers plan to hold another meeting, either in person or by telephone, to give final approval to the disbursement.
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