Eurozone nations have agreed on the final elements of a plan to get Greece out of its eight-year bailout program and make its massive debt more manageable.
The finance ministers of the 19 nations reached a surprisingly hard-fought compromise after talks stretched into Friday morning.
The ministers needed to finalise a deal between Greece and its international creditors that would allow it to safely emerge from its third and final bailout program on 20 August and face the markets again.
After its bailout program ends this summer, Greece will be under strict supervision of its policies.
Greece has been surviving primarily on loans from the eurozone since 2010, when it lost market access to funds because of a ballooning budget deficit, huge public debt and an underperforming economy, matched with an expansive welfare system.
Greece’s third bailout is due to end in August. The debate between ministers at a meeting in Luxembourg centred on the how far to go in easing the repayment burden on those debts by extending maturities.
The decision is being heralded as a definitive end to the period when Greece looked like crashing out of the euro and destabilising the single currency.
Greece is posting economic growth of 1.9% this year after seeing its economy contract by 26% since 2010. Unemployment has dropped slightly this year but remains high at 20% , with youth unemployment standing at a massive 43% .
