Change to Greek bailout details pored over across Europe

Details of Greece’s latest bailout package were being pored over across Europe on Wednesday as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras insisted the agreement with creditors would put “a definitive end” to the country’s economic uncertainty. Tsipras has called an emergency session of parliament to discuss and vote on the bill, which includes painful tax hikes and spending cuts, in time for a confirmed meeting Friday of the eurozone’s 19 finance ministers in Brussels. The so-called eurogroup has to sign off on the bailout deal — as do a few parliaments — so the funds on offer can be released in time for Greece to avoid defaulting on a big debt repayment to the European Central Bank on Aug. 20. The three-year bailout is worth about 85 billion euros ($93 billion).

We have not gone for a quick fix, we have not cut corners…this is a comprehensive agreement.

EU official

To restore trust and rebuild confidence they say has been damaged over the past few months, Greece’s creditors have insisted that lawmakers approve about 40 pieces of legislation by Thursday, and meet several other conditions by October. Although Tsipras is facing fierce opposition from hardliners within his left-wing Syriza party over the bailout, the bill is expected to pass in the 300-member parliament as lawmakers in pro-European opposition parties have said they will back the agreement. While all technical aspects of the deal have been finalized, it still needs the approval of the other 18 eurozone nations’ finance ministers.

The agreement goes in the right direction…but at this hour it is not yet possible to say whether we are at the point where we can start the national process, in other words call for a vote in the Bundestag.

Steffen Seibert, spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel

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