ATHENS – Greece, running out of money and under a tight deadline from European leaders, yesterday requested a three-year loan from the Eurozone’s bailout fund.
But other than alluding to plans to begin overhauling its tax and pension systems next week, Greece did not detail what economic changes it would make in exchange for the loan, saying that it would provide those specifics today.
Nor did it publicly describe the size of the loan it was seeking. Some economists, though, have estimated that Greece might need 50 billion euros, or about $55 billion, or more.
The loan request came after Eurozone leaders rebuked the Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, late on Tuesday for not having provided a new and specific proposal for securing additional bailout money.
Tsipras took his case to the European Parliament on Wednesday. In a defiant speech, he said that his government was determined to reach a “viable agreement” with the country’s creditors. – New York Times.
In 1953, Hermann Josef Abs, center, signed an agreement that effectively cut West Germany’s post-World War II debt in half. – NY Times.