Greek Deal Reached Securing $95 Billion in Bailout Financing
The tentative deal was announced early Monday after a night of talks by European finance ministers and Eurozone leaders.
It is unclear if banks will reopen Monday and if capital controls restricting cash withdrawals at ATMs to $66 a day would continue. The bank closures and cash withdrawal limitations have put Greece’s economy under growing strain, causing some businesses to close and others to struggle in paying suppliers.
The bailout deal would need to be approved by the parliaments of several nations, including Greece and Germany. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras needs to pass pensions reforms, tax increases and a debt repayment fund through parliament by Wednesday for bailout funds to be unlocked.
Greece has a $3.9 billion payment due to the European Central Bank on July 20.
There was fear that if a deal was not reached, Greece would have been forced out of the Eurozone economic bloc.
“There will not be a ‘Grexit’,” European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker said, referring to a Greek exit of the Eurozone. “In this compromise, there are no winners and no losers. I don’t think the Greek people have been humiliated, nor that the other Europeans have lost face. It is a typical European arrangement.”
Snap elections could be called in Greece as more than 60 percent of the country voted against further austerity programs, but the deal allows the country to avoid bankruptcy for the time being.
“We found ourselves before difficult decisions, tough dilemmas. We took the responsibility of the decision in order to avert the implementation of the more extreme aims of conservative circles in the European Union,” Tsipras said. “Greece will fight to return to growth and to reclaim its lost sovereignty.”
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