Greece could get next loan by mid-July

Eurozone finance ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on Sunday, announced early on Monday that Greece could get a crucial next installment on its bailout loans by mid-July only if its parliament passed key laws on spending and privatization.

The ministers ended their meeting on Greece''s debt crisis early on Monday, without announcing a final deal on the 12 billion euro loan installment from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund.

The money, to be lent under a bailout agreed last year, is needed to avoid an imminent default that officials fear would spread financial chaos in Europe.

They say Greece will get the money, but first must pass agreed spending and privatization laws to help bring its budget deficit down.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreous has just reshuffled his cabinet under mounting public unrest over spending cuts, and faces a vote of confidence on Tuesday.

The eurozone, IMF and European Central Bank will review Greece''s progress.

The finance officials also said they would welcome "informal, voluntary" renewals of bond holdings as a contribution by private investors. But any measure must not lead to Greece being ruled in default.Greece got a 110 billion euros in bailout loans last year, but is still struggling. The government admits it will need another bailout of about the same size. No deal on that was announced.

The meeting of the 17 eurozone nations comes after a tumultuous week that saw rioting on the streets of Athens, a Greek Cabinet reshuffle, days of market turmoil that sent borrowing costs up, and Germany softening its demand on the extent that banks and other private lenders share the risks of any new loans to Greece.

Greece''s new finance minister, Evangelos Venizelos, had arrived for the summit in an upbeat mood.

"We can achieve our targets thanks to the efforts of our people and thanks to the cooperation and assistance of our partners," he told the assembled media, before entering the summit venue.

On only his third day in office, he faces his first big test at the summit - he must convince his eurozone counterparts to release a loan installment his country needs to avoid defaulting on its massive debts next month, and to commit to (b) billions in euros (US dollars) in new loans to keep Greece afloat.

The exact role of the private sector in the new bailout featured prominently in the talks.

"The question is how far the participation of private sector is allowed to go, giving the fact that this can very quickly trigger an evaluation by the rating agencies that is not in the interest of Greece nor in that of the Eurozone," said Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg, who also chairs the eurozone finance meetings.

He was speaking earlier on his way into the talks.

He also told reporters not to expect a final deal on Sunday night.