Greek deal expected Monday

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said on Monday that he was optimistic the eurozone's 17 finance ministers would approve a second bailout for Greece after weeks of delay.

"It is now evident that a long period of uncertainty, which did not benefit either Greece nor the eurozone economy, will finally come to an end," Venizelos said. "The Greek people are sending a message, saying that they are willing to make the necessary sacrifices in order to maintain an equal place in the European family."

Arriving at the talks, International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde praised Greece for austerity measures already in place, adding that more needed to be done. "Greece has evidently made great efforts and now we must continue the work," Lagarde said.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said on the way into the meeting that he was confident of a solution. Earlier, a spokeswoman for Schäuble in Berlin said the government was increasingly optimistic. "A lot has happened in recent days," she said

Greece's cabinet scraped together an additional 325 million euros ($428 million) in savings over the weekend to round off 3.3 billion euros in cuts, one of the conditions set by the EU in exchange for the release of a 130-billion-euro bailout. Brussels had also demanded that Athens make a written commitment to implementing austerity measures after April's parliamentary elections, which will likely see "technocrat" Prime Minister Lucas Papademos leave office.

Greece needs the bailout in order to make debt repayments to the tune of 14.5 billion euros, which mature on March 20. The Greek government is thought unable to meet these obligations without the aid money, despite having already received a bailout worth 110 billion euros in 2010.

Greece is walking a financial tightrope, trying to control a national debt worth over 160 percent of gross domestic product, while also seeking to nurture a declining economy and a rising joblessness rate of over 20 percent.

"There are many open details," said Finnish Finance Minister Jutta Urpilainen. "A big issue is that we have to get Greece's debt on a level that is sustainable and enables Greece to survive."

Further protests against Greek budget cuts in Athens and Thessaloniki on Sunday reemphasized public opposition to the austerity program.

US announces support

On the eve of the meeting in Brussels, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner threw Washington's support behind a second loans deal for Greece.

"We welcome the program of economic reforms agreed to by the prime minister of Greece and the coalition parties, and the public statement of support from the major economies of Europe," Geithner said in a statement.

The latest set of Greek cuts included a 22-percent reduction in the minimum wage and a 12-percent reduction in pensions worth more than 1,300 euros per month.

The IMF, which provided 30 billion euros towards the first Greek rescue agreed upon in May 2010, has been quiet on its position on a second Greek deal. The US is the IMF's largest shareholder, possessing enough votes to block any major decision.

slk, msh/gsw (AFP, dpa, Reuters)