Eurogroup formally approves disbursement of new bailout loans to Greece

The Eurogroup on Thursday formally approved the disbursement of 49.1 billion euros (about 64.1 billion U.S. dollars) to Greece under the second international bailout program, Eurogroup president Jean-Claude Juncker announced. The desperately-needed disbursement will be made in two tranches, with 34.3 billion euros expected to be paid out to Greece "in the following days" and the rest be disbursed early next year, Juncker said at a press conference after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers. The decision was made after the "finalization of the relevant national procedures and after having reviewed the outcome of the debt buy-back operation conducted by Greece," he added. Eurozone finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed on Nov. 27 that Greek public debt should fall to 124 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), instead of the original 120 percent, in 2020 through a package of extra debt cutting measures. The Eurogroup reaffirmed that the loan disbursement together with the debt cutting measures and the implementation of the bailout program by Greece would bring Greece's public debt back on a sustainable path, Juncker said. Greece and other eurozone member states are prepared to take additional measures, if necessary, to ensure that the new debt target is met, he said.