"The euro is safe" - Eurogroup OKs more funds for Greece, Spain

The Eurogroup finance ministers have been generous. After handing out additional money to Greece, they're also looking to bail out banks in Spain and Cyprus. 

Private holders of Greek government bonds will have until Friday afternoon (07.12.2012) to decide whether they will sell their certificates back to Athens – albeit with a hefty cut in the value.

The debt buyback program is part of a whole package of measures with which the Eurogroup hopes to help Greece, a plan announced by eurozone finance ministers on Monday (03.12.2012). The money would come from a rescue fund of international donors. If the plan works out, Greece could offload some 30 billion euros ($39.1 billion) of its debt.

The plan must be successful if Greece is to get more credit; lender the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has built up the pressure. "I'm not too worried," said French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici on Monday. His Irish colleague Michael Noonan even went so far to say that the worst of the euro crisis was over.

"All the talk of a fraction of the eurozone is now over - there is complete agreement in the assessment that the euro is safe," he said.

Read more: Eurogroup OKs more funds for Greece, Spain | Europe | DW.DE | 04.12.2012