European Union leaders have cleared the release of the long-awaited second bailout package for debt-ridden Greece by the end of the week.
This is to enable Greece avoid a default on paying back 14.5-billion euro debts due on March 20.
Finance ministers of the euro group, during a two-day meeting in Brussels on Thursday, kicked off preparations to release the first tranche of the 130-billion euro rescue package.
As the first step, the ministers met shortly before the opening of the summit meeting and expressed satisfaction over the progress made by Greece in implementing wide-ranging reforms and austerity measures.
Greece had agreed to these reforms to receive the 130-billion euro ($170 billion) assistance.
They reviewed the situation in Greece and its compliance to commitments with its European partners and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the basis of a report by the ‘Troika’ experts of the European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank.
There has been “good progress” by Greece in implementing the conditions it has agreed to with the EU and the IMF to receive the assistance urgently needed to avoid a bankruptcy, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg’s Prime Minister and Chairman of the euro group, said after the finance ministers’ meeting.
The German Finance Minister, Mr Wolfgang Schaeuble, said the Finance Ministers will finally release the second bailout after a phone conference on March 9.
The Ministers are now waiting for the Greek Government to agree with its private creditors on the remaining details of the planned debt write down.
“As far as I know, Greece has made good progress in this area. Therefore, I think we have taken an important step forward,” Mr Schaeuble said as he arrived for the meeting.
The ministers have authorised the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to raise from the capital markets the money needed for the debt write-down.
It involves about 30 billion euros intended to make the debt write-down attractive for private creditors.