Background

Eurogroup representatives engaged in marathon talks over the weekend to try and agree upon a new bailout agreement to keep Greece solvent and within the euro zone. Some of the bailout terms being tabled have leaked to the media, and they suggest a much worse deal than what was on offer going into the Greek referendum (a possibility hinted at by Chancellor Merkel leading up to the vote).

One particularly contentious point is the creation of a ‘trust fund’ whereby 50 billion euros worth of Greek assets would be held as collateral for new loans, and potentially privatized. Another calls for a five-year ‘timeout’ from the euro zone where some debt is written off and Greece is given time to get its fiscal house in order. According to sources within the talks, the ‘time out’ clause has been removed from the most recent drafts.