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| Version 8 | Version 9 |
|---|---|
| Deal reached over Greece's debts | Deal reached over Greece's debts |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| All 16 eurozone countries have backed a financing plan to help debt-laden Greece, which will include IMF money. | All 16 eurozone countries have backed a financing plan to help debt-laden Greece, which will include IMF money. |
| The safety net would total about 22bn euros (£20bn). It would apply only if market lending to Greece dried up. | The safety net would total about 22bn euros (£20bn). It would apply only if market lending to Greece dried up. |
| Eurozone countries would grant co-ordinated bilateral loans, and there would be "substantial" IMF loans. The "majority" funding would be European. | Eurozone countries would grant co-ordinated bilateral loans, and there would be "substantial" IMF loans. The "majority" funding would be European. |
| The plan was worked out at a summit in Brussels. Greek PM George Papandreou called it "a very satisfactory" move. | The plan was worked out at a summit in Brussels. Greek PM George Papandreou called it "a very satisfactory" move. |
| A draft of the plan, seen by the BBC, says the Greek government "has not requested any financial support", so "no decision has been taken to activate" the mechanism yet. | A draft of the plan, seen by the BBC, says the Greek government "has not requested any financial support", so "no decision has been taken to activate" the mechanism yet. |
| The office of the French president said there would be "very precise conditions" under which the 16 eurozone countries "could be led to intervene" to help Greece. | The office of the French president said there would be "very precise conditions" under which the 16 eurozone countries "could be led to intervene" to help Greece. |
| News of the deal broke as leaders of the 27 EU member states gathered for the two-day summit. | News of the deal broke as leaders of the 27 EU member states gathered for the two-day summit. |
| So far the eurozone has avoided seeking an IMF loan for Greece, preferring a European solution and anxious to maintain global confidence in the euro. | So far the eurozone has avoided seeking an IMF loan for Greece, preferring a European solution and anxious to maintain global confidence in the euro. |
| Revision of rules? | Revision of rules? |
| Earlier on Thursday Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said the German government "will press for emergency aid combining IMF and joint bilateral aid from the eurozone but... only as a last resort". | Earlier on Thursday Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel said the German government "will press for emergency aid combining IMF and joint bilateral aid from the eurozone but... only as a last resort". |
| ANALYSIS Jonny Dymond, BBC News, Brussels It was, as is so often the case, German approval that swung it, and it is a deal done on German terms. | |
| Early on in this crisis the idea that the IMF would be involved in bailing out Greece was regarded as a humiliation for Europe; but Germany insisted that the IMF would play a role, and so it will, alongside loans from individual members of the eurozone. | |
| There's more in the deal that Germany wanted - a call for strengthened surveillance of economic and budgetary risks and a task force to look at what further measures are needed. | |
| She has signalled reluctance to offer Greece anything resembling a bail-out, which is not allowed under the single currency rules. | She has signalled reluctance to offer Greece anything resembling a bail-out, which is not allowed under the single currency rules. |
| Greece has enacted unpopular measures to curb its deficit, including a freeze on public sector wages, pension reforms and increases in fuel taxes. | Greece has enacted unpopular measures to curb its deficit, including a freeze on public sector wages, pension reforms and increases in fuel taxes. |
| It is also having to refinance its debt. Because of doubts over its ability to pay, it is having to pay interest at about 6% - around double what Germany has to pay. | It is also having to refinance its debt. Because of doubts over its ability to pay, it is having to pay interest at about 6% - around double what Germany has to pay. |
| Mrs Merkel said she would press for the EU to amend its treaties to strengthen its ability to prevent future budget crises. | Mrs Merkel said she would press for the EU to amend its treaties to strengthen its ability to prevent future budget crises. |
| Stressing the need to learn lessons from the crisis, she wants a treaty change to allow sanctions to come into force should a eurozone country ever default on its debts. | Stressing the need to learn lessons from the crisis, she wants a treaty change to allow sanctions to come into force should a eurozone country ever default on its debts. |
| Mr Papandreou urged EU leaders to act to stabilise the euro. The single currency hit a 10-month low against the dollar on Wednesday after a credit downgrade for Portugal, which is also struggling with heavy debts. | Mr Papandreou urged EU leaders to act to stabilise the euro. The single currency hit a 10-month low against the dollar on Wednesday after a credit downgrade for Portugal, which is also struggling with heavy debts. |
| Focus on Greece | Focus on Greece |
| Greece's woes have exposed fundamental disagreements about how the 11-year-old euro project should work, the BBC's Europe business reporter Nigel Cassidy says. The eurozone's governance will have to be re-examined, he adds. | Greece's woes have exposed fundamental disagreements about how the 11-year-old euro project should work, the BBC's Europe business reporter Nigel Cassidy says. The eurozone's governance will have to be re-examined, he adds. |
| A deal to help Greece could prevent the crisis sapping market confidence in the euro and ease fears of contagion in the eurozone. | A deal to help Greece could prevent the crisis sapping market confidence in the euro and ease fears of contagion in the eurozone. |
| EU members Hungary, Latvia and Romania have received emergency loans from the IMF and EU as their budgets have been hit hard by the global economic downturn. But, unlike Greece, they are not in the eurozone. | EU members Hungary, Latvia and Romania have received emergency loans from the IMF and EU as their budgets have been hit hard by the global economic downturn. But, unlike Greece, they are not in the eurozone. |
| The Greek crisis is not formally on the agenda of the summit, which is officially concerned with the EU's 10-year economic strategy, and reinvigorating international negotiations over global warming. | The Greek crisis is not formally on the agenda of the summit, which is officially concerned with the EU's 10-year economic strategy, and reinvigorating international negotiations over global warming. |
| But, says the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels, it is Greece that is on everybody's mind. | But, says the BBC's Oana Lungescu in Brussels, it is Greece that is on everybody's mind. |
| German taxpayers are fiercely opposed to bailing out Greece, which is burdened by debt of nearly 300bn euros (£267bn, $407bn) and a public deficit of 12.7% of GDP - more than four times the official eurozone limit. | German taxpayers are fiercely opposed to bailing out Greece, which is burdened by debt of nearly 300bn euros (£267bn, $407bn) and a public deficit of 12.7% of GDP - more than four times the official eurozone limit. |