AHEPA CANADA INITIATIVE: HELLENES IN DIASPORA TO APPLY FOR THEIR GREEK PASSPORT

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Historic" Eurozone Agreement

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos hailed as "historic" the agreement sealed early this morning in Brussels, following 13 hours of talks between Eurozone Finance ministers.

The agreement will lead to Greece receiving a further €130 billion in loans, while its bondholders would accept a 53.5% nominal haircut and the European Central Bank will pass on any profits from the Greek bonds it holds to central banks across Eurozone member states. These clauses are expected to reduce Greek debt down to a projected 120.5% of GDP by 2020.

According to a Eurogroup statement, ensuring debt sustainability and restoring competiveness are the main goals of the new programme whose success hinges critically on its thorough implementation by Greece.

To this end, the Eurogroup agreement invites the Commission to significantly strengthen its Task Force for Greece, in particular through an enhanced and permanent presence "on the ground," in order to bolster its capacity to provide and coordinate technical assistance.

Following the Eurogroup agreement, the Hellenic Republic announced today the key terms of a voluntary transaction in furtherance of the October 26, 2011 Euro Summit Statement, known as the Private Sector Involvement (PSI).

The transaction is expected to include private sector holders of approximately €206 billion aggregate outstanding face amount of Greek bonds (excluding treasury bills).