Eurozone approves next EFSF disbursement of 0.8 bln euros to Portugal

The eurozone approved the disbursement of 0.8 billion euros (about 1 billion U.S. dollars) in bailout loans to Portugal, eurozone finance ministers announced late Monday. Following the completion of the relevant national procedures, the Eurogroup approved the next European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) disbursement of 0.8 billion euros, said a statement released after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers. The Eurogroup also welcomed the conclusion of the fifth review mission of the troika - namely the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank - that the adjustment program for Portugal remains "broadly on track." Eurozone finance ministers also said they were "reassured of the Portugese government's resolve to achieve the revised fiscal targets," and the Eurogroup "notes with satisfaction that the government's active preparation of a return to the financial markets in 2013 has recently been met with success." The Eurogroup said it "looked forward to the adoption by the Ecofin of the legal texts paving the way for its disbursement of 2 billion euros and to the approval of the 1.5 billion disbursement by the IMF Executive Board at the end of the month."