Eurogroup finance ministers agree to debt relief for Greece

Brussels (dpa) - Finance ministers from the countries that use the euro agreed Monday in Brussels to a series of relief measures for highly indebted Greece.The foundations for the scheme had already been agreed in May, Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said.The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) presented details of the scheme to ministers, who then approved it, he said.The measures are independent of the ongoing examination of Athens‘ austerity and reform programme, above all concerns about its labour market reforms.Whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would participate in the new relief measures would probably not be known until the new year, Dijsselbloem said.Until now the IMF has only played an advisory role in Greece‘s bail-out programme, but has stressed the need for a reduction in Greece‘s debt over the long-term to allow the country to get back on its feet.Greece has been dependent on an international financial bail-out since an economic crisis in 2010.The third tranche of bail-out funds amounting to 86 billion euros (93 billion dollars) was made dependent on Athens and its creditors agreeing to a far-reaching programme of reforms until the end of 2018.ESM head Klaus Regling said the first relief measures would be achieved by a series of technical adjustments to the cost of Greece‘s debt burden, including extending the payback period for the second tranche from 28 to 32 years.Greece would also be able to benefit from the currently very low rates of interest, he said.According to ESM estimates, the combined measures should reduce Greece‘s debt in relation to its gross domestic product by 20 percentage points between now and 2060.Greece‘s debt is now 315 billion euros, or 180 per cent of GDP.