Eurozone Finance Ministers Agree In Principle to EUR 7 B Bridge Loan for Greece

Eurozone finance ministers have agreed in principle to grant a EUR 7 B bridge loan to Greece.

More information on the loan is expected to be announced on Friday once technical details are sorted and parliaments in several EU member states have approved the bailout deal.

The loan will come from the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), Bloomberg informs.

The bridge loan will help Greece make a EUR 3.5 B payment to the European Central Bank (ECB), which falls due on Monday and will keep the country afloat until the details of the third bailout are negotiated.

After lengthy negotiations over the weekend, the leaders of the eurozone agreed on Monday to grant Greece a third bailout of up to EUR 86 EUR in return for a set of economic reforms, which Athens has to implement before it receives any of the rescue funds.

Despite the split within the main ruling SYRIZA party, the Greek Parliament approved on Thursday the terms of the bailout agreement.