Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reviews the military guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony following a meeting with the Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential palace in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Tuesday. Jan. 16, 2018. Cyprus hosts the leaders of Greece and Jordan in a three-way meeting aiming at strengthening ties in the volatile region.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reviews the military guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony following a meeting with the Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential palace in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Tuesday. Jan. 16, 2018. Cyprus hosts the leaders of Greece and Jordan in a three-way meeting aiming at strengthening ties in the volatile region. Petros Karadjias AP Photo
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras reviews the military guard of honor during a welcoming ceremony following a meeting with the Cyprus' President Nicos Anastasiades at the Presidential palace in capital Nicosia, Cyprus, on Tuesday. Jan. 16, 2018. Cyprus hosts the leaders of Greece and Jordan in a three-way meeting aiming at strengthening ties in the volatile region. Petros Karadjias AP Photo

National Business

EU official: Greece closing in on end of bailout years

By RAF CASERT Associated Press

January 18, 2018 10:57 AM

BRUSSELS

A senior EU official says Greece is within reach of ending its Herculean bailout program which saved it from the brink of bankruptcy.

The official said Thursday that eurozone finance ministers meeting next week had "a great willingness to say that, basically, nearly everything had been done" to complete its latest bailout review, further paving the way to end the program next August.

The official, who spoke only on condition of anonymity because the ministers still had to meet next Monday, said that the disbursement of "between 6 and 7 billion" euros would start in the second half of February.

Greece's massive debt pile and its struggles to deal with it have dominated the eurozone of 19 nations sharing the currency for most of the past decade.

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