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Greece hails 'historic' Eurozone debt relief deal

| Updated: June 25, 2018 13:17:02


Greece hails 'historic' Eurozone debt relief deal

Eurozone countries have agreed a long-awaited debt relief deal for Greece, which has been hailed as "historic".

The deal gives Athens more time to repay €96.9 billion (£85b) worth of loans and extends a grace period during which Greece will pay little or no interest, reports BBC on Friday.

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos said it sent a signal that Greece was turning a new page.

EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said the agreement meant "the Greek crisis ends here".

Under the deal, eurozone governments are also giving Greece a final cash loan of €15 billion to help it keep paying its bills.

Greece's current bailout programme is due to end in August.

The country has had three bailout programmes since 2010, when Greece lost the confidence of the financial markets as a result of its huge budget deficit.

The ensuing financial crisis led to a debate over whether Greece would stay in the eurozone, as well as raising doubts over the future of the eurozone itself.

In return for the bailouts, Greece has had to enact a series of tough economic reforms. In the immediate aftermath of the crisis, the country's economy shrank and unemployment surged.

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