Greek gov’t buoyed by EWG approval

The approval by the Euro Working Group Thursday of Greece's request for the early repayment of part of its debts to the International Monetary Fund buoyed the government, which is seeking to bolster its flagging popularity in the countdown to local and European elections later this month.

The approval by representatives of eurozone Finance Ministry officials of the Greek request for immediate repayment of 3.9 billion euros still needs the green light from ministers at a Eurogroup meeting later this month. And it is only part of Greece's total debts of 9.4 billion euros to the IMF, meaning that the country will remain under the Fund's supervision, even after the payment.

However, Greek officials played up the development as a sign of the country's growing financial independence from its international creditors.

In recent speeches, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras...