Eurozone ministers agree to bail out Spain

Xinhua, July 10, 2012

Eurozone finance ministers agreed to bail out Spain by giving a first payment of 30 billion euros (37 billion U.S. dollars) to its reeling banks by the end of July, Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker said early Tuesday.

Juncker said that after nine hours of talks, the ministers from the 17 nations using the euro reached a draft memorandum of understanding on Spain and were "aiming at reaching a formal agreement in the second half of July."

Under the agreement, the reimbursement deadlines were set "up to 15 years," Juncker said.

The ministers also agreed to give Spain one extra year - until 2014 - to cut its public deficit to the European Union limit of 3 percent of its gross domestic product, Juncker said.

Spanish government bond surged recently, showing strong worries about the country's debt outlook.