From Reuters:
Greek political leaders said they had clinched a deal on economic reforms needed to secure a second EU bailout, but euro zone finance ministers demanded more steps and a parliamentary seal of approval before providing the aid.
The EU and the International Monetary Fund are exasperated by a string of broken promises by Athens and weeks of disagreement over the terms of a 130 billion euro ($172 billion) bailout, with time running out to avoid a default.
Finance ministers of the 17-nation euro zone meeting in Brussels warned there would be no immediate approval for the rescue package and said Athens must prove itself first.
Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the Eurogroup, set three conditions, saying the Greek parliament must ratify the package when it meets on Sunday and a further 325 million euros of spending reductions needed to be identified by next Wednesday, after which euro zone finance ministers would meet again.
“Thirdly, we would need to obtain strong political assurances from the leaders of the coalition parties on the implementation of the program,” Juncker told a news conference after six hours of talks in Brussels. “Those elements needs to be in place before we can take decisions.”
“In short, no disbursement before implementation.”
Facing elections as soon as April, Greece’s party leaders have been loath to accept the lenders’ tough conditions, which are certain to be unpopular with increasingly angry voters.
Read the rest of the story here.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.