Greek PM expected to call snap election on Thursday

European bailout fund supervisors approved the release Wednesday evening.

“He said he was forced to do so because a majority of Greeks wanted to stay in the eurozone, and this could not be achieved in any other way”. While the aid is technically provided by the Bank of Greece, its use is being reviewed every two weeks by the ECB. Eighteen abstained.

Amid a growing revolt from the ranks of his own Syriza party and discontent about the course of Greece’s necessary reforms, Greek state broadcaster reported that prime minister Alexis Tsipras will call snap elections after a meeting with his senior advisors, happening now in Athens.

Klaus Regling, the managing director of the Eurozone Stability Mechanism (ESM) that manages the bailout signalled Greece was making a fresh start.

A decision is expected next week.

Syriza, a radical-left party which had campaigned to scrap spending cuts and tax increases, came to power in January – but under Mr Tsipras, it made a major U-turn in government by accepting strict austerity conditions in exchange for its latest bailout.

However it is feared that this will send a signal to the country’s worldwide creditors that Greece does not have willingness to implement the reforms.

The Greek premier has also called for the European parliament to join the quartet of creditors in overseeing the recently approved bail-out deal.

Greece’s finance ministry said it would get the first 13-billion-euro payment Thursday morning.

The government has said its main priority was to secure the bailout funding and to repay the European Central Bank loan on Thursday, after which it would announce any further action.

Seemingly small details of daily life will also be affected by the new rules, from visits to the doctor to an extension of the expiry dates on pasteurised milk in supermarkets.