Euro zone aims to agree on second Greek bailout by February 6

Reuters
February 2, 2012

Euro zone finance ministers aim to agree a second financing package for Greece on Monday, a decision they hope will boost market confidence in euro zone public finances and help contain the two-year-old sovereign debt crisis.

A deal for Greece would include agreement on official new financing, the size of voluntary losses banks and other private bondholders are willing to accept and new reforms Athens must undertake.

This would end months of uncertainty over private sector losses on Greek bonds and over the sustainability of the country's debt, now at 160 percent of GDP, which have increased costs of borrowing in many other euro zone countries.

Senior euro zone officials are expected to meet on Monday between 0800 and 1400 GMT (3 a.m. and 9 a.m. EST) in Brussels to prepare the package, which would then likely be submitted for approval by euro zone finance ministers at an extraordinary meeting at 1600 GMT.

"We are very far in the negotiations and we should be able to close them in the coming days," EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn told reporters in The Hague.

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