European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism

Greece intends to borrow 10 billion to 12 billion euros ($14.60 billion) by issuing short-term and long-term debt in 2021, about the same amount as this year, in a bid to ensure its continual presence in debt markets, two government sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

The head of the eurozone rescue fund said it would be wise for Greece to pay back early its outstanding loans with the International Monetary Fund, as they are more expensive than the yields Athens currently pays in the markets on its bonds.

European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici said Greece would remain under fiscal supervision even after the current bailout programme expires based EU regulations until the government pays off at least 75% of its financial support it had received from either other EU member-states, the ESM and the EFSM.

Greece is pushing its creditors to fix the borrowing costs on its massive debt pile at current low levels in a bid to save millions of euros in coupon payments if interest rates rise.

The priority is to fix the repayments on the largest chunk of the 228 billion euros owed to official creditors from its three financial rescue packages.

According to Bloomberg news agency, negotiations between Greece and its creditors, the European institutions and the IMF (Quartet), will drag on till summer, when Greece will have to pay a large part of its debt.

The EU approved a short-term bridge loan of EUR 7.16 B to Greece, which will allow the country to meet debt repayments to the IMF and ECB, while the agreement on a third bailout is still being ratified.

European Commission Vice-President for the Euro Valdis Dombrovskis announced that all 28 EU member states backed the agreement on a bridge loan, daily Kathimerini reports.

The European Economic and Financial Affairs Council (Ecofin) has approved a 7.16 bln-Euro bridge loan to Greece, which will allow the crisis battered country to cover its overdue debt obligations over the next 3 months to the IMF, the Bank of Greece and the ECB.

The European Commission expressed its satisfaction after the Greek parliament passed the prerequisite measures Thursday morning.

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 European Commission (EC) is proposing to grant EUR 7 B bridge loan to Greece in order to cover the country's financing needs in July.

The funds will be provided through the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM), daily Kathimerini reports.