Portugal reaches deal on bail-out

Mr Socrates resigned after failing to get austerity measures through parliament Portugal's caretaker prime minister Jose Socrates has announced that he has reached agreement on a bail-out from the EU and the International Monetary Fund. He said the three-year loan was a "good agreement". No figure was given for the value of the loan, although it is reported to be about 78bn euros ($116bn; £70bn). Officials from the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF have been working on a deal for three weeks. In a televised statement, Mr Socrates said that Portugal would be given more time to reach its budget deficit targets than had previously been expected. Mr Socrates resigned as prime minister after failing to get austerity measures through parliament. There will be a general election on 5 June. The deal has to be endorsed by the main opposition parties. Portugal was the third eurozone country to have to ask for a bail-out, after Greece and Ireland.This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

cell spy database mobile spy for all References... Sources......