Eurozone officials approved fresh loans of EUR 2.8 billion to Greece as Athens delivered required reforms for the release of the second tranche of the financial assistance.
The European Stability Mechanism said the current EUR 2.8 billion disbursement consisted of two parts.
The EUR 1.1 billion was approved for the release following the full implementation of a set of 15 milestone by the Greek authorities. This amount will be used for debt servicing.
A further EUR 1.7 billion can also be disbursed after a positive assessment of the clearance of net arrears by Greece. This amount will be disbursed to repay arrears owed to domestic contractors, the ESM said.
Following today's disbursement, financial assistance will reach EUR 31.7 billion. The ESM and the EFSF together have so far disbursed EUR 173.5 billion to Greece.
"Today's decision to disburse EUR 2.8 billion to Greece is a sign that the Greek people are steadily making progress in reforming their country," ESM Managing Director Klaus Regling, said.
"If the government continues to implement the reforms agreed in the ESM programme, growth of the Greek economy could accelerate next year and the government may be able to start issuing bonds again next year," said Regling.
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