Drowning in debt, Greece won the pledge of a new bailout on top of a July cashflow fix, but only after surrendering some of its financial autonomy, on Friday.
“There is an agreement,” Prime Minister George Papandreou said as Europe rallied to avoid bankruptcy in Athens and a damaging exit from the euro currency area.
The plan hinged on a positive review by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund of Greek budgetary efforts despite a worse-than-expected national recession since last year’s 110-billion-euro rescue.
Emerging from talks in Luxembourg, both Papandreou and Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the eurozone finance ministers, indicated Athens stood poised also to win a fresh bailout deal, including help from private banks, to bring it back from the brink.
Papandreou said despite “big sacrifices by the Greek people, still much has to be done. At the same time we have seen that the markets remain sceptical and this is why we are now discussing about additional financial support.”
Juncker, hailing Greek commitments to balance the national books, said the 17-nation eurozone was likely to agree to fresh aid for the indebted nation and, crucially, private sector banks were set to help on a voluntary basis.
Papandreou reassured that the country will continue the hard work and fully meet its obligations with the aim to boost growth and raise employment.
“Our aim is Greece to become a very different country,” he concluded.
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