Eurozone finance ministers begin Greek bailout talks
20.02.2012
The eurozone finance ministers have begun closed door talks in Brussels, which are aimed at deciding the terms of the Greek bailout.
Minister of State Brian Hayes is representing Ireland in place of Finance Minister Michael Noonan at the meeting.
Greece’s finance minister Evangelos Venizelos said he was optimistic about a deal going through while head of the IMF Christine Lagarde noted the effort that the troubled country has made to resolve its economic difficulties.
Last week, the Greek parliament agreed on a €3.3bn savings plan, which paved the way for the bailout agreement.
Greece’s economy shrank by 7pc in the last quarter of 2011 and it has to pay €14.5bn of debt next month.
At stake in the rescue plan is a writedown of privately-held government debt worth €100bn as well as guarantees and loans totalling another €130bn.
As part of the deal Greece will have around €100bn of debt written off via a restructuring involving private sector holders of Greek government bonds.
Karina Corbett