Greek FM Euclid Tsakalotos says bailout deal will take country forward

Gerovasili refused to give details on a potential early election, but said any action would come after August 20, when Greece has to make a large debt repayment to the European Central Bank. The terms also create problems for Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who faces waning support from his own party and may have to call early elections.

But Tsipras insisted the bailout was in Greece’s best interests, saying: “The agreement will advance Greece by making its financial system more stable, starting right now”.

Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Djisselbloem said last night that “of course there were differences but we have managed to solve the last issues”.

Juncker admitted that the past six months had been “difficult”. “We’re going to look at the content, we’re going to talk about political trust”, he said. “Greece is living up to its ambitious reform commitments”, Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, said.

The deal rules out any “bail-in” of depositors’ savings in Greek banks.

The Greek parliament passed the bill on the deal after a marathon debate and just in time for Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos to fly to Brussels to seek the seal of approval from his eurozone counterparts as well. “There is a promise of recapitalisation of the banks, without any of the depositors having to bail in or anything to worry about”, he told reporters.

“I do not regret my decision to compromise”, Tsipras said in parliament as he defended the bailout from euro zone and worldwide Monetary Fund creditors.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble especially has taken a very hard line over the latest bailout and made clear he will raise several questions about its feasibility at Friday’s meeting.

“Eagerness to reach a solution was not enough”, Scicluna said.

Parliamentary speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou, one of the Syriza hardliners, snubbed a request from Tsipras to speed up handling of the bailout bill so that it can be voted on well before the finance ministers meet in Brussels on Friday.

But after deadlock since January that ravaged the already weak Greek economy and ended in a dramatic U-turn a month ago by the anti-austerity leftist government to avert Athens’ expulsion from the euro, there was a cautious sense of optimism among ministers gathered in aBrussels deep in summer holiday languor.

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Still, some of those who rebelled on Friday could still opt to support the government in a confidence vote, as could other pro-European parties such as the centrist Potami and the center-left PASOK, leaving the final outcome unclear.