ATHENS — Eurozone finance ministers, meeting here under tight security Tuesday, approved the release of 8.3 billion euros in rescue loans to Greece, pointing to signs that the country is emerging from its economic crisis.
“It has been an arduous process, but now we have a positive outcome,” Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister and head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, said at a news conference in Athens announcing loans, worth $11.5 billion.
Dijsselbloem said a seven-month review by Greece’s international lenders — the troika consisting of the European Commission, the European Central Bank, and the International Monetary Fund — “can now be closed” after the Greek Parliament’s approval of a raft of economic overhauls Monday.
The provisions included contentious measures lifting barriers to competition and a new framework for the recapitalization of Greek banks.