After the ministers approved Greece's recent reform efforts, they decided to disburse 10.3 billion euros in loans early today to see Athens through the next months.
Greece in July accepted a three-year, 86-billion-euro (USD 93-billion) EU bailout that saved it from crashing out of the eurozone, but the deal came with strict conditions. Athens has since adopted a number of the unpopular reforms but creditors have wanted it to do more.
After an 23-hour session that began Monday afternoon, exhausted Greek officials emerged in a central Athens hotel to announce the two sides had agreed details of the deal though a couple of minor issues remained to be ironed out.
The Greek crisis is not just about one country, it is about the entire European Monetary Union (EMU), says Manish Singh of Crossbridge Capital. He says both Greece and Germany want to preserve the euro and EMU because they are the biggest beneficiaries.