Europe Agrees to Greece Bailout

At long last, the euro zone agreed to give Greece a second bailout early Tuesday morning, after more than 13 hours of talks. The infusion of $172 billion will save the country from immediate default, but at the cost of extensive austerity cuts. Greece must reduce its debt to about 120.5 percent of its domestic product by 2020, down from about 160 percent now. The cuts—everything from military to medical spending and local government staff—are deeply unpopular with the Greek people. Despite the new bailout and harsh cuts, a leaked report from the European Commission acknowledges that the EU isn’t out of the woods yet. The report warned Greek debt could remain high in 2020 and that yet another bailout could be needed after the latest one has run its course.