Greece to get €8.5bn bailout payment

Greece's European creditors have agreed to give the cash-strapped country the next batch of money due from its bailout and outlined a series of debt relief measures they hope will foster growth.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the eurozone's top official, said Greece has been cleared to get €8.5bn, which will allow it to meet a big repayment hump this July.

He also said the International Monetary Fund was ready to provide more financial assistance to Greece via a stand-by arrangement and that Greece would get help with its debt payments in the future.

Some debt repayments could be delayed by 15 years.

In addition, he said Greece's growth levels could be taken into account in its repayments.

Mr Dijsselbloem said at the conclusion of the meeting of the eurozone's 19 finance ministers on Thursday that an agreement was forged "on all elements".