Greece debt crisis: Eurozone summit strikes deal

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Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the eurozone group of finance ministers, said the agreement included a €50bn Greece-based fund that will privatise or manage Greek assets. Out of that €50bn, €25bn would be used to recapitalise Greek banks, he said.

Greek banks have been closed for two weeks, with withdrawals at cash machines limited to €60 per day. The economy has been put under increasing strain, with some businesses closing and others struggling to pay suppliers.

Monday saw the European Central Bank maintain its cap on emergency funds being provided to Greek banks, meaning they will stay shut for now to prevent them running out of funds.

Eurozone finance ministers are due to meet later on Monday to discuss providing "bridge financing" that would cover Greece's short-term needs.

"The road will be long, and judging by the negotiations tonight, difficult," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday morning.

French President Francois Hollande said the agreement had allowed Europe to "preserve integrity and solidarity".

"We also had to show that Europe is capable of solving a crisis that has menaced the eurozone for several years," he said.

Analysis: Gavin Hewitt, BBC News, Athens

Athens has been offered a third bailout. Bankruptcy - the spectre of a failed state - has been avoided, and Greece will stay inside the euro. But the deal has left many Greeks humiliated. It is not just the ranks of the left that are using the word "surrender".

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will have to rush key measures on pension reforms, tax increases and a debt repayment fund through parliament. It will be a bruising process. Only then will bridging loans be released that will enable Greece to meet a payment to the European Central Bank next Monday.

As it is, the deal will almost certainly lead to snap elections. Mr Tsipras will reshuffle his cabinet and discard those cabinet ministers who opposed his latest proposal.

For more on this story and video go to: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33503955

Published July 13, 2015

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