Eurozone reaches Greek bailout deal

Finance ministers from the eurozone reached a Greek bailout plan Tuesday, agreeing on measures to reduce the country’s debt level to 120.5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020.

Under the rescue package, which was clinched after lengthy 12 hours of talks, Greece will receive extra bailout loans of 130 billion euros ($170 billion) to avoid a debt default on a bond repayment in March, eurozone officials here said.

Earlier, eurozone officials had indicated that they would approve a second bailout program for Greece after Athens had agreed to all the terms demanded by international creditors, reported Xinhua.

“I would like to assume that we can reach final and concluding negotiations today (Monday),” Eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker said as he arrived for a meeting of eurozone finance ministers Monday.

“The Greek side has fulfilled many preparatory efforts we had demanded. We have to conclude today, there’s no more time to waste,” Juncker, who is also Luxembourg’s prime minister, told reporters.

Nevertheless, the meeting was prolonged into the early hours of Tuesday.