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Greece seals new bailout deal to avoid euro exit

– ‘No deal at any price’ –

The full terms of the new deal were not immediately available but they looked set to be even tougher than those originally offered to Greece.

A Greek government official had earlier said the terms drafted on Sunday by the euro finance ministers were “very bad”, amid concerns they would effectively take control of much of Greek finances away from Athens.

Under terms drawn up by eurozone finance ministers at the weekend, Athens would now have to push through new even tougher laws by Wednesday, Finnish Finance Minister Alex Stubb said.

Athens would have to introduce harsh conditions on labour reform and pensions, VAT and taxes, and measures on privatisation, he added.

Key sticking points included the involvement of the IMF and a call for Greece to park assets of up to 50 billion euros ($56 billion) in a fund in Luxembourg for privatisation.

Arriving for what was billed as a last-chance summit Sunday, Merkel said there would be “no agreement at any price”, complaining of a loss of trust in Athens.

Tsipras, who was elected in January vowing to end five years of austerity tied to two previous bailouts since 2010, had said a deal was “possible” if all sides were willing.

The 40-year-old has become a standard-bearer for leftist parties across the continent who say the austerity policies championed by Brussels undercut growth and cause massive unemployment.

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The Greek parliament approved Greece’s new reform plans on Saturday, despite them being similar to those rejected by Greeks in the referendum.

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