Euro zone set to pay Greece 2.8 bn euros

The meeting will be held by the Eurogroup Working Group on Monday, Greek Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras told lawmakers on Saturday, Reuters reported.

The payment will be made if Greek MPs approve a reform law on Sunday.

The proposed law contains several reforms and tax measures, including provisions that facilitate dismissal of workers in the public sector.

Stournaras said the country needs the loan to pay wages, pensions, and bonds held by the European Central Bank due on May 20.

“Passing the bill opens the way for the disbursement of the 2.8 billion euros… it doesn’t get more urgent than that,” he stated.

Members of the Eurogroup Working Group, who are mostly deputy finance ministers or senior treasury officials, will also meet on May 20 to make a decision about another 6-billion-euro loan to Greece.

The country has already received about 200 billion euros from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund since mid-2010.

Greece has been at the epicenter of the eurozone debt crisis and is experiencing its sixth year of recession, while harsh austerity measures have left tens of thousands of people without jobs.

Many Greek workers are currently unemployed, banks are in a shaky position, and pensions and salaries have been slashed.

Greek youths have also been badly affected, and more than half of them are unemployed.

The worsening debt crisis has forced the governments of European Union states to adopt harsh austerity measures and tough economic reforms, which have triggered massive demonstrations in many European countries.

NT/HGL

Source Article from http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/04/28/300619/euro-zone-set-to-pay-greece-28-bn-euros/

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