Greece’s Lenders Welcome Approval of Second Reforms Package

Greece’s major international lenders welcomed the news that a second set of measures had been approved earlier in the day, making a third bailout possible, Deputy Chief Spokesperson of the European Commission Mina Andreeva said.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — In the morning session, the Greek parliament passed a second list of reforms, required by the creditors as a precondition for a $95-billion rescue loan. The legislation included new banks regulations and reforms to the justice system.

.@EU_Commission, @ecb & #IMF's first assessment:EL authorities legally implemented 2nd set of measures in timely+overall satisfactory manner

— Mina Andreeva (@Mina_Andreeva) 23 июля 2015

On July 13, the Eurogroup agreed a new bailout for Greece, with $95 billion to be given to the country over the next three years in exchange for economic reforms and additional austerity measures.

Two days later, Greece approved the first set of reforms that focused largely on tax hikes and budget amendments.

The European Commission offered Athens a short-term bridge loan worth at least 7 billion euro ($7.6 billion), which Greece used on Monday to make debt repayments to the ECB and the IMF.

Greece has received about $270 billion from its main lenders, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB), under two bailout programs, the last of which expired on June 30.