Greek Aid Deal Delayed until July

The New York Times reports

Europe’s finance ministers unexpectedly put off approval early Monday of the next installment of aid to debt-laden Greece, delaying the decision until July and demanding that the Greek Parliament first approve spending cuts and financial reforms that include a large-scale privatization program.

After nearly seven hours of talks in Luxembourg, ministers announced a holding action that reflected their struggle over how to avert a potentially disastrous default by Greece. Athens needs the next payout of 12 billion euros from its existing 110 billion euro bailout package by mid-July in order to remain solvent.

The decision adds to pressure on the Greek government and its prime minister, George Papandreou, who on Sunday began urging Parliament to support his reform plans in a confidence vote scheduled for Tuesday night.

The ministers’ action fell short of expectations raised Thursday when Olli Rehn, the European commissioner for economic and monetary affairs, said in a statement that he was confident the leaders would reach agreement in Luxembourg to provide Greece the next installment of aid in early July.

Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg, who leads the group of 17 euro zone finance ministers, said he expected the disbursal to be approved if deep spending cuts and new reform measures were enacted. “I cannot imagine for one second that we would commit to finance Greece without knowing that the Greek Parliament has given a vote of confidence to the Greek government,” he said.