EU deal over third Greek bailout important, not granted: Italy's Renzi

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Monday said the agreement reached by euro zone leaders on a third bailout program for Greece was important and "not granted" at all, local media reported.

"There is no need of triumphalism, nor of understatement now," Renzi told a press conference in Brussels, according to Il Sole 24 Ore financial daily.

"The agreement reached tonight is important, and many times during the talks it appeared (to be) not granted at all," said Renzi.

The Italian prime minister acknowledged the 17-hour long talks in Brussels among the 19 European Union (EU) members of the euro zone were tense and difficult, and more than once seemed close to a failure.

"Last night we have risked to be very near to a 'Grexit', but then we have taken a very assertive step in the opposite direction," Renzi said.

"The discussion has been very heated, yet also genuine, and what happened tonight proved there is no one single country at the helm of Europe, just the contrary," said the Italian prime minister.

Early on Monday morning, European Council President Donald Tusk announced a "unanimous agreement" was reached at the euro summit to move forward with a third bailout program for Greece.

The bailout through the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) would be estimated at around 85 billion euros (about 94 billion U.S. dollars), according to various European sources cited by media.

Athens would have risked total bankruptcy without a last-minute deal with EU partners and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which together represent Greece's international creditors.

Renzi dismissed suggestions the agreement was somehow "humiliating" for Greece, for the harsh terms Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras's government was asked in order to receive the bailout.

"With its decision to hold a referendum over the creditors' proposals (on July 5), Greece chose a path of autonomy. It was a fully respectable choice under the democratic principle, but also highly risky for Greek citizens," Renzi declared.

That decision was overall a "mistake", especially because it came unannounced to eurozone partners after Athens walked out of negotiations, and it "undermined the trust", according to Italy's prime minister.

However, Europe did not "turn its back" on Greece. "Last night's deal was really reached with the contribution of all," Renzi said.

Italian authorities have made big efforts in latest weeks to reassure both its citizens and the markets that Italy's economy would be safe in case of Greece leaving the euro currency.

The country was in fact seen as vulnerable to the possible shocks of a Grexit, given its high public debt, the slow pace of growth, and record-high unemployment rates.

Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan repeatedly stressed Italy would not fear "far-reaching repercussions even in the worst-case scenario", thanks to the reforms being implemented, the consolidation of its public finances, and the signs of economic recovery.

However, the IMF last week said that "adverse developments in Greece could have a substantial impact on Italy via confidence effects, although direct exposures are limited".

"With confidence gathering momentum, contagion risks from adverse developments in Greece were seen as limited in the near term," the IMF wrote.

"However, there was more concern about longer-term implications, if perceptions about the irreversibility of the euro area were to change permanently," said the IMF. Endit