Athens gets 130 billion euros in aid of the euro area and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). After hours of nightly discussions in Brussels, members of the European Union have finally given the green light, early Tuesday morning, the second bailout of Greece, which should enable him to avoid a default, the price of drastic austerity measures and a real surveillance.

Finance ministers of 17 countries in the euro area have battled all night to finalize details of the bailout, snatching last-minute concessions to private creditors of Greece, who will accept a discount greater than expected.


It took several months to finalize this second aid plan, decided on July 21 by the leaders of the eurozone. The first envelope of 110 billion euros, granted in May 2010, proved insufficient to break the cycle of Greece from the debt crisis that threatens other European countries.

The time was short, puisqu’Athènes had not the means to repay the 14.5 billion euros of bonds maturing on March 20. It was necessary to avoid a disorderly default, which could cause panic in European markets and further destabilize the countries most in need such as Ireland, Portugal but also Italy and Spain, respectively the third and fourth savings the euro area.

In addition to new loans from the euro area and the IMF, Athens should receive a discount of 53.5% given by its private creditors, more than initially planned. Banks and private investors will finally erase part of the slate, via an exchange of obligations which should be an immediate reduction of 107 billion euros, according to the Institute of international finance. They should also agree to allow more time to repay them in Athens, against 30 years under seven.

The partners of Athens in the euro area will also reduce interest rates of the first aid plan, which will remain higher than the market, but 1.5 percentage points between 2 and 3 cons now. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank (ECB) and national central banks in the euro zone will give up the profits on Greek bonds they hold.

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