Roundup: Greece receives debt deal for third bailout with relief, disappointment

Greece received the debt deal reached at the euro summit in Brussels on Monday over the terms of the third Greek bailout with mixed reactions of relief and disappointment.

Speaking to media before his return here, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras hailed the outcome, stressing that now scenarios of an imminent Greek default and Grexit are things of the past.

The path to restore growth in the debt-laden country is paved with creditors' further aid over the next three years, he claimed.

However, the leftist premier admitted that the framework of the 82 to 86 billion euro package (91 to 95 billion U.S. dollars) through the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) would be difficult to implement.

But the alternative for Greece was a dive into chaos, stressed the government, and proponents of the idea that a bad deal was better than no deal.

According to the official euro summit statement released in Brussels at the end of the marathon 17-hour talks, Greece must legislate starting as of Tuesday sets of harsh measures and reforms as prerequisites to the release of any aid.

The first round of legislation, which should be passed by the Greek assembly by Wednesday, includes the streamlining of the VAT system and measures to improve the sustainability of the pension system.

The Greek government is due to table the agreement and the first draft bills containing these policies to the Greek parliament on Monday night.

Meanwhile, a new Eurogroup meeting on Monday afternoon was expected to discuss the issue of short-term financing so that Greece can cover its financing obligations in July and August.

As well, the European Central Bank (ECB) was expected to hold a teleconference also on Monday to examine the possibility of resuming the flow of Emergency Liquidity Assistance funds to Greek banks so that they reopen.

Based on the ECB's decision, the Greek government is to announce whether the extraordinary bank holiday, which started on June 29 along with capital controls, would be extended again from Tuesday.

The focus here is on Tsipras' next initiatives. After a hard battle in Athens, the government needs to manage strong reactions starting from within the ruling coalition and the Syriza party.

Opposition pro-euro parties which authorized the premier to negotiate with lenders last Saturday in a critical vote in parliament, welcomed the Monday result as a breather for the Greek economy and society, and pledged further support.

In a rare sight for Greek politics, political opponents such as centrist River party chief Stavros Theodorakis congratulated Tsipras on making a "brave decision."

Media commentators, financial experts, heads of chambers such as National Confederation of Hellenic Commerce President Vassilis Korkidis and ordinary Greeks in the streets of Athens also voiced relief that the worst had been avoided.

However, on the other hand, representatives of trade unions and another part of the divided Greek political system and society described the agreement as "humiliating." Among them was Syriza member and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis.

"There are no winners or losers from this deal," European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker underlined on Monday, but critics have voiced anger regarding key points of the agreement.

They dismissed in particular the development of a scaled up privatization program that foresees the transfer of 50 billion euros (about 55.5 billion U.S. dollars) worth of Greek assets to an independent fund to be used for the repayment of the recapitalization of banks, the decrease of the Greek debt load and investments.

Others noted that Athens did not secure a strong immediate commitment to a debt relief, pointing to German Chancellor Angela Merkel's statement that a "nominal haircut on the Greek debt load was out of the question."

As the far-left party has called a first rally for Monday afternoon in central Athens, Tsipras was expected to meet his junior coalition partner Panos Kammenos at the same time.

The current defense minister and leader of the right-wing Independent Greeks, a party which holds 13 seats in the 300-member-strong assembly, has expressed strong objections in recent days to the outcome of the six-month negotiations with lenders. Political analysts in Athens forecast a possible walkout from the government coalition.

Should Tsipras lose the Independent Greeks, and in addition a significant number of Syriza's parliamentary group which today has 149 seats in the assembly, the scenario of a cabinet reshuffle that was circulating in Athens on Monday noon might be replaced by the formation of a new "special purpose" government or snap national elections, local media reports said.

The government's strength is in question and nobody can blame members of parliament who do not agree to the terms of the deal, Labor Minister Panos Skourletis told Greek national broadcaster ERT on Monday, acknowledging that the result was far away from the initial anti-austerity and anti-bailout policy platform promised by Syriza.

He called on "rebels" to resign and hand over their seats in parliament back to the party.

The risk of political turbulence fuelled concern that efforts to push Greece back on the right track could be impeded, media commentators such as Katia Makri of Real FM radio noted.

The front pages of Greek dailies on Monday reflected the conflicting sentiment of public opinion. "Freak Memorandum on the horizon," read Eleftheros Typos (Free Press) newspaper, while Kathimerini (Daily) read "Historic EU Summit for Greece's stay in the euro zone." Endit