Measured relief in Greece over EU debt deal

ATHENS: Greece reacted with measured relief on Thursday after European leaders sealed a deal to contain the eurozone debt crisis that slashes the country's huge debt by nearly a third.

The Athens stock exchange gained nearly three percent in early morning trade after an opening 4.78-percent spurt, and authorities spoke of a "historic" day but political rivals warned the details of the deal could hide pitfalls.

"The country has signed a very major deal, this is a historic day that can put order in our public finances," government spokesman Elias Mossialos told private Mega television.

But he also warned that "a lot is at stake in coming days", noting that Greece's intransigent opposition parties should help apply economic reforms and banks had to be persuaded to join the country's debt reduction scheme.

The main opposition conservatives, who will be called to support the deal in a parliament vote, were initially non-committal, while leftist parties said new sacrifices will be demanded from the Greek people.

"We will have to evaluate this deal," Christos Staikouras, a conservative party spokesman on economy issues, told state television ET3.

"But the economic policy must change, currently it leads nowhere, fiscal adjustment is needed together with growth," he said.

The deal brokered early on Thursday will cut 100 billion euros off Greece's 350-billion-euro debt mountain thanks to an agreement between the eurozone and a lobby for banks that is to have private investors take 50 percent losses on Greek debt.

The deal, in which banks accept a "haircut" on their Greek loans, should help cut the ratio of Greece's debt from 160 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 120 percent by 2020, a final eurozone statement said.

"We have escaped the trap of default," Prime Minister George Papandreou said, adding that it was a "question of survival" for his country.

The PM noted that the details of the haircut deal would have to be negotiated and concluded "by the end of the year" to enable Greece to finalise budget plans.

Already weakened by the crisis and blocked from loan markets, not all Greek banks will be able to weather the increased cost smoothly, and Papandreou admitted some could pass under temporary state control.

"It is very likely that a great part of bank shares will come under Greek state control," the PM told reporters in Brussels.

"After restructuring, these shares will be made available on the market as other countries have done," he said.

Papandreou also stressed that it would be best for EU-IMF auditors to be present in the country on a permanent basis so that problems can be resolved "immediately."

"I don't like a show every three months," the PM said, referring to the quarterly fiscal inspections held so far with mixed success.

The eurozone leaders also agreed a new bailout to replace the 109 billion euros in aid loans agreed in July. It would be worth up to 100 billion euros until 2014, and should be agreed by the end of the year.

"Haircut deal brings relief but also obligations," top-selling Ta Nea daily headlined on Thursday, noting that Greece had agreed to "painful" pledges including "multi-year austerity, a more intensive supervision and a wide privatisation programme."

Waves of general strikes and protests, some of them violent, have been held against the wage cuts, pension reductions and tax hikes that have spearheaded the government's economic reforms this far.

Unions have warned of more labour unrest to come early next month, with the two main syndicates announcing a November 1 meeting to coordinate further action.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011