PM briefs president on debt deal
Prime Minister Lucas Papademos told President Karolos Papoulias that he was satisfied with the outcome of Monday?s Eurogroup summit in Brussels, noting that the tough negotiations had been worthwhile as they had yielded a better than expected loan agreement.
?The negotiations with the private creditors were indeed a marathon, and the Eurogroup session too was long and intense. But I believe that the outcome was extremely satisfactory,? Papademos told Papoulias in a televised exchange prior to their private talks.
Following their meeting, the premier told reporters that the new debt deal for Greece paved the way for the launch of a debt swap deal that is to reduce the country?s debt burden by more than 100 billion euros and ?secure the country?s financing for the coming years.? But he said much more remained to be done in the coming weeks, chiefly gaining parliamentary approval for all the measures linked to the new debt deal.
Papademos added that the decisions taken in Brussels, and those that remain to be taken in Athens, ?will create the conditions for growth and the recovery of the Greek economy.?
