Eurozone ministers agrees to give Greece €7bn (£5bn)

Eurozone ministers have agreed to give Greece a €7bn (£5bn) bridging loan from an EU-wide fund to keep its finances afloat until a bailout is approved.

The loan is expected to be confirmed on Friday by all EU member states.

In another development, the European Central Bank (ECB) agreed to increase emergency funding to Greece for the first time since it was frozen in June.

The decisions were made after Greek MPs passed tough reforms as part of a eurozone bailout deal.

It means Greek banks, which have been closed for nearly three weeks, could reopen in the next few days.

Greek media reports say banks are preparing to reopen on Monday, although credit controls will remain in place.
Eurozone leaders agreed on the bailout in principle in Brussels on Monday, on the condition that the Greek parliament passed reforms on taxation increases and pension curbs by Wednesday.

The €7bn bridge loan was agreed in a conference call on Thursday to tap the EU's EFSM emergency fund.

At a news conference on Thursday, ECB President Mario Draghi said emergency funding - ELA - to Greek banks was being raised by €900m over one week.

"Things have changed now," he said. "We had a series of news with the approval of the bridge financing package, with the votes, various votes in various parliaments, which have now restored the conditions for a raise in ELA."