Officials with the Eurozone countries on Tuesday approved a 2.8 billion euro bailout for Greece, the third such bailout delivered to the country since it spiraled into economic crisis six years ago.
"Today's decision to disburse 2.8 billion to Greece is a sign that the Greek people are steadily making progress in reforming their country," European Stability Mechanism managing director Klaus Regling said in a statement.
The latest disbursement of funds will consist of a 1.1 billion euro allotment to be used for servicing debt based on Greece’s successful implementation of 15 financial milestones, and another 1.7 billion euros to help pay back various unpaid debts.
Regling said Greece met key milestones related to pension reform, banking oversight and other areas, and the country has taken further steps to make a new privatization and investment fund operational.
“If the government continues to implement the reforms agreed in the ESM program, growth of the Greek economy could accelerate next year and the government may be able to start issuing bonds again next year,” he said.
When these latest funds are dispersed, Greece will have received nearly 32 billion of the 86 billion euro bailout authorized in July 2015.
