Greece and lenders agree on primary budget targets

A Greek government official said the hope is that a deal that “covers everything” will be concluded as soon as possible and indicated that one could be imminent by the time of a meeting of the eurozone’s 19 finance ministers on Friday.

“We are going into the final round of talks, looking at the Memorandum of Understanding from beginning to end”, a senior Greek government official said during a brief break in talks in Athens, referring to the terms of the bailout accord.

Greece needs a deal by August 20 at the latest, when it has a debt repayment of a little more than 3 billion euros to make to the European Central Bank.

Negotiations between Greece and its creditors dragged on overnight as the parties work to reach an agreement that would save the bankrupt country from another loan default.

Greece has reached an agreement on a third bailout with its global creditors that will help the debt-laden country stay afloat in the euro zone and restore economic growth, the Greek government announced Tuesday.

An agreement would close a painful chapter of aid talks for Greece, which fought against austerity terms demanded by creditors for much of the year before relenting under the threat of being bounced out of the euro zone.

Facing a revolt from the far-left of his leftist Syriza party, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to once again rely on opposition support to push the package through parliament.

But with his popularity among Greeks still high, Tsipras has warned the dissidents of early elections in the autumn if they continue to resist the measures. Germany, the most important single contributor to Greece’s two earlier bailouts, has confused the significance of being thorough within the hard negotiations.

Berlin has cautioned that the focus in talks must be on “quality before speed”, raising questions about whether it will seek to slow down the process by insisting on strict conditions attached to any aid.

“It has to be convincing that it isn’t just about August. 20 and an installment payment, but really about how, together with the Greeks, we can have a lasting solution”.

Talks between Greece’s finance and economy ministers, Euclid Tsakalotos and Giorgos Stathakis, and between the ECB, the worldwide Monetary Fund and the European Stability Mechanism are ongoing. Those so-called primary surpluses would rise to 1.75 percent in 2017 and 3.5 percent in 2018.

In regards to another sticking point in negotiations, namely labor market reform, according to the press statement, it was agreed to also examine the issue further in depth in coming weeks and months.

Athens wants to set up a “bad bank” to take on the problem loans, while creditors want NPLs bundled and sold to distressed debt funds.

Officials had also argued over how to set up a sovereign wealth fund in Greece designed to raise €50-billion from privatizations, three-quarters of which would be used to recapitalize banks and to reduce the debt.

“n”>Greek banks could get a first capital injection soon after a bailout deal is agreed, as much as 10 billion euros, even before the ECB completes a stress test, a euro zone official familiar with the issue said on Monday.