Greece’s creditors praise Athens’ cooperation before Friday’s Eurogroup

Greece's creditors praised the government's cooperation during negotiations to clinch a third bailout deal worth 85 billion euros ($94.78 billion) ahead of a meeting of euro zone finance ministers in Brussels on Friday.

On Tuesday, Greece struck a deal with its four creditor institutions – the European Commission, the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European bailout fund – to keep the country afloat, its third bailout program in five years.

In a statement from the European Commission, together with the European Central Bank, the four creditor institutions acknowledged the "very good cooperation of the Greek authorities during the review mission, which has made possible this agreement after several months of negotiations."

The Greek parliament was due to vote on the package of measures which include tax rises and spending cuts in exchange for fresh loans in the early hours of Friday.

Euro zone finance ministers will meet in Brussels on Friday to discuss Greece's third bailout package.

Finland, one of the euro zone countries most skeptical about pouring yet more aid into Greece, backed the bailout on Thursday. But parliament in Germany, the biggest contributor to the deal, has yet to approve it.

In the statement, the Commission said the package would enable Greece "to address the remaining imbalances in the economy in order to bring it back on a sustainable growth path, while also addressing in a determined way the social challenges facing the Greek society."

[Reuters]