by Isabelle Roussel and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Brussels
9 minutes ago
The deal demands tax rises and more tough spending cuts in return for a €85bn (£61bn, $95bn) bailout - Greece's third in five years.
It is needed to stop Greece exiting the eurozone and to avert bankruptcy.
But it comes at a heavy political price for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who has faced a rebellion in his left-wing Syriza party.
More than 40 Syriza MPs voted against him when parliament decided on the bailout agreement on Friday, after all-night talks.
Reports in Greece suggest he will seek a vote of confidence in parliament next week, bringing the prospect of snap elections closer.
"I am actually quite optimistic that we shall reach a result today, the preparations have advanced pretty well," Wolfgang Schaeuble said.
He said ministers would consider how well Greece had responded to EU demands, and whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would commit to supporting the bailout package.
Earlier the Eurogroup head welcomed the Greek parliament's vote to sign off the deal.
"We're going to talk about political trust," Mr Dijsselbloem said.
"That's still a factor of course with Greece: can we trust that it's actually going to happen?"
The deal received:
Thirty-one Syriza members voted "No", and 11 abstained - the biggest rebellion within Mr Tsipras's party so far. The rebels represented almost a third of Syriza's MPs.
A "Yes" vote by MPs was required for eurozone ministers to endorse the deal to release the funds.
The deal also needs approval from the parliaments of several other countries, including that of Greece's most influential creditor, Germany, before any funds can be disbursed. Some nations, such as Finland, have already given their approval.
Greece must repay about €3.2bn to the European Central Bank (ECB) on 20 August.
If it defaults on this debt, the ECB is likely to stop emergency funding for Greece's crippled banks.
9 minutes ago
Eurozone finance ministers have agreed on a new bailout deal for Greece after Athens backed the plan.
Eurogroup
chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem earlier said ministers would need to be
sure the Greek government would carry out the promised reforms.The deal demands tax rises and more tough spending cuts in return for a €85bn (£61bn, $95bn) bailout - Greece's third in five years.
It is needed to stop Greece exiting the eurozone and to avert bankruptcy.
But it comes at a heavy political price for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who has faced a rebellion in his left-wing Syriza party.
More than 40 Syriza MPs voted against him when parliament decided on the bailout agreement on Friday, after all-night talks.
Reports in Greece suggest he will seek a vote of confidence in parliament next week, bringing the prospect of snap elections closer.
'Optimistic'
Arriving at the 19-member Eurogroup meeting in Brussels, Germany's finance minister - one of Mr Tsipras's harshest critics - had been upbeat."I am actually quite optimistic that we shall reach a result today, the preparations have advanced pretty well," Wolfgang Schaeuble said.
He said ministers would consider how well Greece had responded to EU demands, and whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would commit to supporting the bailout package.
Earlier the Eurogroup head welcomed the Greek parliament's vote to sign off the deal.
"We're going to talk about political trust," Mr Dijsselbloem said.
"That's still a factor of course with Greece: can we trust that it's actually going to happen?"
Rebellion
Greek MPs backed the deal on Friday morning after a marathon all-night session marked by procedural delays and often angry exchanges in parliament.The deal received:
- 222 votes for
- 64 against
- 11 abstentions
Thirty-one Syriza members voted "No", and 11 abstained - the biggest rebellion within Mr Tsipras's party so far. The rebels represented almost a third of Syriza's MPs.
A "Yes" vote by MPs was required for eurozone ministers to endorse the deal to release the funds.
The deal also needs approval from the parliaments of several other countries, including that of Greece's most influential creditor, Germany, before any funds can be disbursed. Some nations, such as Finland, have already given their approval.
Greece must repay about €3.2bn to the European Central Bank (ECB) on 20 August.
If it defaults on this debt, the ECB is likely to stop emergency funding for Greece's crippled banks.
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