Greek debt relief deal OK’ed after German backdown to IMF
Greece’s battered economy received some good news yesterday after Eurozone finance ministers agreed to debt relief measures if new reforms come to fruition.
The Mediterranean state will be granted longer grace periods and bond maturities from 2018 if it upholds the reforms agreed to in its most recent bailout package.
The move is a concession from leading Eurozone nation Germany, which had faced off with another creditor, the International Monetary Fund, over Greece’s need for debt relief.
“This agreement on debt… by the European partners is expected to allow the IMF to participate in the program,” the ministers said in a statement last night.
Greek finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos said after the meeting in Brussels that the deal would enable the distribution of more bailout cash to Athens, helping it cover debt repayments in coming months.
However, the offer to prepare debt relief options by 24 May follows the passing of a package of unpopular pension and tax reforms in Athens earlier yesterday that one critic called “a tombstone for growth”.