AFP, Luxembourg :
Eurozone ministers struck a long-delayed bailout deal with Greece on Thursday to unlock badly needed rescue cash, but warned Athens would have to wait for debt relief.
After hours of talks in Luxembourg IMF chief Christine Lagarde and the eurozone’s 19 finance ministers greenlit a payout of 8.5 billion euros to avoid Athens defaulting in July and avert another summer of Greek crisis.
Payment of the latest tranche of Greece’s 86-billion euro ($97-billion) bailout, agreed in 2015, has been held up for months by a row over its needs for debt relief which has pitted bailout-weary Germany against the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“I am pleased to announce we have achieved an agreement on all elements,” Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem told a news conference in Luxembourg.
“I think this is a major step forward,” he added.
In a breakthrough, Lagarde agreed in Luxembourg that the Washington-based IMF would join Greece’s massive bailout, but said any payouts depended on the eurozone coming up with a full debt relief plan.
Eurozone ministers struck a long-delayed bailout deal with Greece on Thursday to unlock badly needed rescue cash, but warned Athens would have to wait for debt relief.
After hours of talks in Luxembourg IMF chief Christine Lagarde and the eurozone’s 19 finance ministers greenlit a payout of 8.5 billion euros to avoid Athens defaulting in July and avert another summer of Greek crisis.
Payment of the latest tranche of Greece’s 86-billion euro ($97-billion) bailout, agreed in 2015, has been held up for months by a row over its needs for debt relief which has pitted bailout-weary Germany against the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“I am pleased to announce we have achieved an agreement on all elements,” Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem told a news conference in Luxembourg.
“I think this is a major step forward,” he added.
In a breakthrough, Lagarde agreed in Luxembourg that the Washington-based IMF would join Greece’s massive bailout, but said any payouts depended on the eurozone coming up with a full debt relief plan.
