AlQa'dah 05, 1436, August 20, 2015, SPA -- Eurozone finance ministers on Wednesday approved the first tranche of Greece's new 86-billion-euro bailout, EU diplomats said, enabling the cash-strapped country to meet a loan repayment deadline the following day, according to dpa. The decision brings some respite after Greece teetered on the brink of bankruptcy during months of fraught bailout negotiations, which took their toll on the country's embattled economy and strained relations in the 19-member currency bloc. Earlier Wednesday, the final hurdles were cleared as the German and Dutch Parliaments approved Greece's third bailout programme in five years. It spells out strict conditions, agreed last week by Athens and its creditors, which Greece must meet in return for new aid. The finance ministers later held a conference call, rubber-stamping the deal and clearing the way for a first bailout tranche of 26 billion euros, which will be split into several payments according to earlier information. Greece is expected to receive 13 billion euros in time to meet Thursday's deadline for repaying a loan to the European Central Bank worth about 3.4 billion euros. A further 10 billion euros are to be set aside to deal with ailing Greek banks, while the remaining 3 billion euros will be disbursed to Athens in return for reform progress over the coming months, the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers said on Friday. "This agreement provides perspective for the Greek economy and a basis for sustainable growth," Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Wednesday. "We are certain to encounter problems in the coming years, but I trust we will be able to tackle them," he added. The three-year rescue package also won parliamentary approval in Spain, Estonia, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland this week. Both the Netherlands and Germany have taken hardline stances in the the negotiations on a third bailout, which came after six months of acrimonious talks with the leftist government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. There is widespread scepticism among both German and Dutch voters about pumping more taxpayer money into Greece. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte secured parliamentary backing for Greece's bailout after the small liberal opposition party D66 joined his conservative Liberal Party and its Social Democratic coalition partner to support the rescue plan. The overwhelming majority of the German parliament also voted in favour of the aid programme, despite Chancellor Angela Merkel also failing to rally more support from her conservative bloc. While 453 members of the Bundestag voted in favour of handing Greece fresh aid, 113 opposed it. A further 18 abstained Wednesday. However, the number of lawmakers from Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavaria-based sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU) voting "no" to the bailout climbed to a record 63 - about one fifth of the chancellor's 311-strong parliamentary faction. A total of 47 of the 631-member Bundestag were not present for the vote. Four weeks ago, 60 CDU-CSU members rejected launching the bailout negotiations with Greece. Still, the scale of the rebellion in CDU-CSU ranks was less than feared after Merkel joined her finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, in lobbying hard to contain the number of "no" votes in Wednesday's debate on Greek aid. The bailout was in "the interests of Greece and Europe," Schaeuble told the Bundestag. Germany's was the largest contributor to the two previous Greek bailouts, which totalled 240 billion euros. But he also warned of the risks ahead, after Athens was criticized by German political leaders for dragging its feet in introducing reforms agreed to under its two previous rescue plans. "After the experience of the past months and years, there are no guarantees that everything will work, and doubts are always permitted," Schaeuble told lawmakers, who were recalled from their summer vacation for the vote. "But given the fact that the Greek Parliament has already adopted a large part of the measures, it would be irresponsible not to use the chance for a new beginning in Greece," he said. Bundestag backing for the aid package was always a foregone conclusion, as both the junior member of Merkel's ruling coalition - the left-leaning Social Democrats and the opposition Greens - had signalled their intention to support the rescue plan. However, four SPD member voted "no," including Peer Steinbrueck, who stood as the party's chancellor candidate in the last national elections in 2013. One Green lawmaker also voted no. A total of 15 Green and SPD members abstained in the vote. Merkel's CDU-led ruling coalition has an 80-per-cent majority in the Bundestag. The national votes came after Tsipras last week secured the backing of parliament in Athens for the package of tax, pension and fiscal reforms as well privatization measures that were conditions for his hard-left led government to receive the new bailout.
