Eurozone finance ministers to meet Friday on Greek bailout deal

(BRUSSELS) - Eurozone finance ministers will meet Friday to give their verdict on a third massive bailout deal for Greece, an official said Wednesday.

Michel Reijns, spokesman for Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said the ministers from the 19-country eurozone would hold an "extraordinary" meeting in Brussels at 3 pm (13:00 GMT) on Friday.

Greece and its international creditors reached a technical agreement in Athens on Tuesday on a new bailout worth 85 billion euros ($94 billion) over three years in return for implementing tough reforms.

The draft deal was submitted to eurozone member states late Tuesday and must be adopted Thursday by the Greek parliament before the Eurogroup studies it.

Several parliaments in member states, including paymaster Germany, must also sign off on the deal.

Greece and its creditors -- the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund -- are under pressure to finalise the deal by August 20, when Athens must repay some 3.4 billion euros to the ECB.

Failing that, they may decide offer Greece another bridging loan, similar to one arranged to cover a July 20 repayment to the IMF, so that it can meet its ECB obligations.