Eurozone finance ministers OK $64 billion Greek bailout packageDecember 13, 2012 - 17:52 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Eurozone finance ministers approved a 49.1 billion-euro ($64 billion) rescue package for Greece at their meeting on Thursday, December 13, to keep Athens' debt-saddled economy afloat, RIA Novosti reported. Of these funds, 34.3 billion euros will be released within the next few days while the remaining funds will be disbursed in the first quarter of 2013, European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said. Eurogroup President Jean Claude Juncker said 16 billion euros would be spent on recapitalizing Greek banks, 7 billion euros on support for the country’s budget and 11.3 billion euros on a sovereign bond buyback. Greece has been receiving bailout loans since May 2010, and to date Europe and the IMF have given the country nearly 149 billion euros ($191 billion) of the 240 billion euros promised. On November 8 the Greek parliament passed a highly unpopular austerity bill, setting out 13.5 billion euros in spending cuts, as well as tax hikes and labor reforms by 2016 as demanded by the troika (the European Union, the IMF and the European Central Bank) to reduce the country’s debt and deficit. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. |