After talks that lasted through the night, eurozone finance ministers finally struck a $172 billion bailout agreement for Greece early Tuesday. The deal averts a debt default by Athens, but also demands Greeks to shoulder more austerity measures Smooth 9.45.
After 13 hours of negotiations, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker announced success at a news conference early Tuesday in Brussels. "We have reached a far-reaching agreement on Greece's new program and private-sector involvement that will lead to a very significant debt reduction for Greece and pave the way toward an unprecedented new amount of official financing being provided by the EFSF [the EU's bailout fund] to secure Greece's future in the euro area," said Juncker.
New Greek Austerity Measures Greece's government has approved several rounds of austerity measures in hope of securing a new eurozone bailout. Some of the measures still require further legislation in Greece:
Pass a budget including spending cuts equal to 1.5% of the gross domestic product, or $4.37 billion. Reduce the minimum wage by 22%; by 32% for those under the age of 25. Reduce the state work force by 15,000 within one year. Hire only one new civil servant for every five who retire.The deal gives Greece its long-awaited installment of bailout money, allowing it to make debt repayments due on March 20. More broadly, it averts a larger crisis sweeping through the 17-nation currency zone if Greece leaves it.
The agreement would see Greece slice its debt to about 120 percent of its gross domestic product by 2020 -- compared to 160 percent today. Private investors would take greater losses than anticipated of 53.5 percent of the face
