EU welcomes end of Greece’s bailout program, ‘beginning of new era’ for debt-laden state

The EU has welcomed Monday’s end to Greece’s bailout program, saying it hopes it will be the beginning of a new era for the debt-laden eurozone member state. EU Financial Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said that for the 19-nation eurozone it also “draws a symbolic line under an existential crisis” that saw Greece get close to being kicked out of the group, AP reports. The crisis came to a breaking point in the summer of 2015, when Greece had to accept more austerity measures to get another bailout package. Overall, Greece has gotten some €290 billion ($330 billion) in loans over the past years, including €256 billion ($292 billion) from its European partners.