A Second Greek Bailout Is Approved by Euro Zone Nations

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Thursday, March 15, 2012

A Second Greek Bailout Is Approved by Euro Zone Nations

By STEPHEN CASTLE

LONDON — After months of tortuous and tense negotiations, a second bailout for Greece finally became a reality on Wednesday when euro zone nations formally approved the plan and authorized the release of the first multibillion-euro loan installment.

In a statement, Jean-Claude Juncker, who, as the president of the Eurogroup, leads the finance ministers of the 17 European Union members that use the euro, said the national governments had formally approved Greece’s second rescue, which is valued at 130 billion euros ($170 billion). “All required national and parliamentary procedures have been finalized,” he said.

Finance ministers gave their political seal of approval to the accord earlier in the week, but the announcement on Wednesday signified the end of negotiations that had provoked tensions between Greece and some of its creditors and that periodically had teetered close to failure.