Eurozone finance ministers to discuss Greece's third bailout package
Finance ministers from the eurozone countries are to discuss the terms of a third economic bailout for Greece, following the approval of the move by the lawmakers in Athens through a tough debate.
The emergency eurozone session later on Friday will see the economic chiefs of the 19-nation bloc meet in the Belgian capital, Brussels, to decide whether to agree on 86 billion euros in bailout loans to Greece or grant the debt-ridden country the so-called bridge loans to continue to live on.
The top concern for the finance ministers is to decide whether Athens would be able to repay next week an overdue 3.2-billion-euro loan to the European Central Bank (ECB). They are also concerned about a deepening gap between members of Greece’s ruling Syriza party, which is already split on whether to support Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras or oppose his reconciliation with Europe. The latter scenario could see the Greeks go to the votes in early elections, which might eventually force Tsipras out of power and jeopardize the implementation of the bailout program.
Greek lawmakers, including dissenters in Syriza, had a difficult and lengthy night debating the massive loan package, although they finally signed it off Friday morning to give a beacon of hope to the eurozone officials that the country is finally willing to live up to its previous pledges.
The yes votes in the Greek legislature, however, caused angry reactions among Syriza members, with some of them saying it was a slap in the face of millions who voted for the party in January. Syriza came to power vowing to dismantle harsh austerity measures imposed on the country’s budget in return for European bailout.
A full approval of the third bailout still faces opposition, especially from the side of Germany, which says Greece had better be provided with bridge loans so that it could sort out its problems in the short term. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble says such a measure could put more pressure on Athens to carry out the promised reforms in its economy.
Tsipras and some other members of the eurozone have warned, however, that a bridging loan would be a return to a crisis without any end.
“It (a bridging loan favored by Germany) is what certain people have been looking for systematically, and we have a responsibility to avert that, not to facilitate it,” the Greek prime minister told the parliament.
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