BRUSSELS — Eurozone finance ministers agreed on Monday to begin negotiations in Athens as soon as next week over much-needed overhauls<br />in exchange for bailout payments, with Greece appearing to win a reprieve from the crippling austerity that it has faced for years.<br />Representatives of Greece’s main creditors will “go back to Athens in the very short term,” Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the<br />president of the Eurogroup, which brings together the finance ministers of the 19-nation eurozone, said on Monday.<br />But it is a positive sign ahead of a meeting this week between Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany<br />and Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, who have taken contrasting positions on debt relief toward Athens.<br />But with elections due in France, Germany and the Netherlands this year, the country’s<br />bailout is threatening to become a major political issue across the region.<br />Eurozone Agrees to Greece Talks in Exchange for Bailout Payments -<br />By JAMES KANTER and NIKI KITSANTONISFEB.
