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Greece passes eurozone exam, first bailout payments cleared
Mar 1, 2012, 16:31 GMT
Brussels - Eurozone finance ministers applauded Greece Thursday for taking required economic reform and austerity measures, and authorized the first payments to be made under its second, 130-billion-euro (174-billion-dollar) bailout.
'Greece ... undertook decisive and swift legislative action in the areas of fiscal consolidation, revenue administration, pension reform, financial sector regulation and supervision and growth-enhancing structural reforms,' a Eurogroup statement said.
As a result, ministers authorized funds to be set aside to recapitalize Greek banks and to support the value of Greek governments bonds, so that the European Central Bank could continue accepting them as collateral.
The eurozone's rescue fund, the European Financial Stability Facility, was also instructed to start raising money for the bailout. But final approval of the package depended on private lenders accepting a parallel debt write-off deal worth over 100 billion euros, ministers said.
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