Hopes rise for Greek deal
ATHENS/ BRUSSELS — Hopes rose on Thursday that Greece had f i nally done enough to secure a second bailout package worth $170 billion after Athens set out extra budget savings demanded by its international lenders.
Time is running out f or Greece to secure the new funds to ensure it can avoid a chaotic default when $ 18.9 billion of debt repayments fall due on March 20.
The optimism sliced through a mood of deepening acrimony between Athens and northern states in the 17- member currency union and came only after one proposal to withhold part of the bailout until after Greek elections in April had been dropped.
“We are almost there,” one euro zone official said.
“Unless someone really comes up with an i dea to undermine the whole deal, it should be approved on Monday,” the official said of a regular meeting of the currency bloc’s finance ministers in Brussels.
In a further sign of an emerging accord, euro zone sources said national central banks in the currency bloc would this weekend exchange holdings of Greek bonds in the run- up to a private sector debt deal to avoid taking forced losses.
With a go- ahead from the euro zone finance ministers, Greece can formally launch a debt restructuring offer to its private creditors which aims to halve in nominal terms what Greece owes to i nvestors, slashing its debts by $ 130 billion. “There is no certainty but there is cautious optimism,” said Antonis Samaras, leader of Greece’s conservative New Democrats, told reporters.
“Greece has done what it had to do.”
A Greek government spokesman confirmed that Athens expected to get the green light from the euro zone on Monday for the debt swap deal with banks and insurers.
The euro rose, European shares recovered losses and safe haven German Bunds hit session lows in response to developments which could help allay the two- year debt crisis.
Athens has provoked rising frustration among some euro zone members at what they see as a trend of Greek political leaders doing the minimum possible at the last moment since the country was first bailed out in 2010. Critics say exactly the same applies to the euro zone’s response over the last two years.
Greek government sources said Athens had agreed with the EU and IMF how to fill the $ 424- million hole in a set of $ 4.3 billion in budget cuts adopted by parliament on Monday.