EUROZONE-GREECE/EUROGROUP DEPARTURES Eurogroup breaks without decision on bridge financing for Greece

Record ID: 147329

  • Title: EUROZONE-GREECE/EUROGROUP DEPARTURES Eurogroup breaks without decision on bridge financing for Greece
  • Date: 13th July 2015
  • Summary: BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (JULY 13, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF EUROPEAN COUNCIL EU FLAG AND SIGN FOR LUXEMBOURGISH PRESIDENCY OF THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL FINNISH FINANCE MINISTER, ALEXANDER STUBB, TALKING TO JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (English) FINNISH FINANCE MINISTER, ALEXANDER STUBB, SAYING: "I think the situation is not grey anymore. It's pretty black and white. And that's why I'm l
  • Embargoed: 28th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA46M78HA4U12EX97UGG1MCNRU6
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Eurozone finance ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday (July 13) postponed a decision on bridge financing for Greece until a technical working group assesses the financing.
    Leaders of the 19-nation single currency made Greece surrender much of its sovereignty to outside supervision on Monday in return for agreeing to talks on an 86 billion euros bailout to keep the near-bankrupt country in the single currency.
    The terms imposed by international lenders led by Germany in all-night talks at an emergency summit obliged leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to abandon promises of ending austerity and could fracture his government and cause an outcry in Greece.
    Athens must meet a tight timetable for enacting unpopular reforms of value added tax, pensions, budget cuts, bankruptcy rules and an EU banking law that could be used to make big depositors take losses.
    Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb said the situation was no longer grey.
    "It's pretty black and white. And that's why I'm looking at the white side, and seeing the white smoke coming out of the Greek parliament in a positive sense, that we get a decision from there. And I think if the decision from the Greek parliament's side is positive, then that would facilitate life for the rest of the eurozone," he said.
    Greece hopes to start talks on a bailout of up to 86 billion euros at the end of the week after its parliament passes a raft of laws by Wednesday (July 15) to show it is ready to reform.
    But the bailout talks are likely to be tough and probably take many weeks, if not months.
    Yet already by next Monday (July 20) Greece will need 3.5 billion euros to redeem maturing bonds held by the European Central Bank. It also has to settle its overdue obligations to the International Monetary Fund from Monday and the end of June.
    Overall, in July, Athens needs 7 billion euros according to estimates by the institutions representing its creditors. It will need a further 5 billion euros to cover maturing debt payments by mid-August.
    European Commission Vice-President for the euro Valdis Dombrovskis called for a deal on bridge financing to be done quickly.
    "It needs to be done very quickly so hopefully we can reach it already in the coming days, but now it's really for a working group to assess different options, also different legal and political obstacles which different options are facing and to find the right way forward," Dombrovskis said.
    Italian Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said the technical group was "working like hell."
    "So it's a question of hours or a few days, I guess, we need to solve that quickly," he said.
    Tsipras was subjected to a 17-hour browbeating by leaders furious that he had spurned their previous bailout offer on more favourable terms in June and held a referendum last week to reject it. Only France and Italy worked to try to soften the terms being imposed on Greece.
    Some diplomats questioned whether it was feasible to rush the package through the Greek parliament in three days. Tsipras is set to sack ministers who did not support him and make dissident Syriza lawmakers resign their seats, people close to the government said.
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