Greece reaches agreement with European Commission

Head of the European Commission said the risk of Greece leaving the euro has been averted.


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By :  ,  Financial Analyst

An agreement to offer Greece a third bailout has been reached by Eurozone leaders.

After on-going talks in Brussels, which Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras called a "tough battle", the head of the European Commission said that the risk of Greece leaving the eurozone had been "averted".

Greece has secured debt restructuring and a "growth package" and will have to pass the reforms demanded by the eurozone – including streamlining pensions, raising tax revenue and liberalising the labour market – by Wednesday (July 15th).

An EU statement said up to €86 billion (£61 billion) of financing would be available for Greece over a three-year period. It also included an order to reschedule Greek debt repayments "if necessary". However, there was no provision for reducing the Greek debt, which Athens had been seeking.

No Grexit

Commenting on the agreement, Jean-Claude Juncker, the chief of the European Commission said: "There will not be a 'Grexit'." There had been concerns that if a deal could not be reached, it would have meant Greece having to leave the euro.

He explained that this agreement was a compromise, with no winners or 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," he said.

Mr Tsipras said he believed – and hoped – that the a Grexit was no longer a possibility, reports the BBC.

"The deal is difficult but we averted the pursuit to move state assets abroad. We averted the plan for a financial strangulation and for the collapse of the banking system," he said.

Mr Tsipras also said he had the "belief and the hope that… the possibility of 'Grexit' is in the past".

"The deal is difficult but we averted the pursuit to move state assets abroad," he said. "We averted the plan for a financial strangulation and for the collapse of the banking system."

Following the news of a Greek deal, shares in London and other key European markets went up. By midday Monday (July 13th), the FTSE 100 had gained 0.67 per cent or 45,012 points to trade at 6,718.40.​

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