The newly elected Greek government reached an agreement with its European creditors Friday to extend their loan for four months.

The Greek government has been trying to negotiate for anti-austerity measures. Greece’s current bailout is worth $270 billion and its unemployment rates continue to rise. Many believe that Greece is going to “Grexit,” a term used to describe a Greece’s potential for leaving the Eurozone.

The new agreement requires Greece to create labor reforms and anti-corruption measures in order to receive financial aid. Greece missed the original deadline of Monday night to submit its proposal for the reforms and will present its proposals Tuesday morning.

Members of the NYU community shared their thoughts on the agreement reached between Greece and its creditors:

“I think the extension is good because it allows Greece more time to negotiate the agreement, so that it can get the best deal possible for its citizens. However, I still think that the government needs to take a serious stance on its overspending and corruption.”

— Ben G-W, Steinhardt senior

“I don’t think the four month loan extension will achieve much. Hopefully, the people of Greece are starting to realize that exiting the Eurozone is a realistic consequence of this all and will prepare for change. I think exiting the Eurozone is the only sensible solution to the debt. Greece will have to adjust, grow their own crops, make their own supplies instead of relying on imports and focus on creating exports for profit. This will in turn create more jobs and slowly grow the economy, I believe.”

— Annamaria Louloudis, Steinhardt junior & president of the
Hellenic Heritage Association

“There will always be the threat of Greece exiting the Eurozone. At every stage in the near future, the Grexit scenario will be present. However, this was the first big step for the cooperation of the Greek government with its foreign counterparties.
Given the fact that due to lack of time a deal was achieved close to the last moment, both parties will be better prepared at the next round of negotiations, since it was the first time that a government opposed in such a degree the austerity measures enforced by the troika.”

— Michael Konidaris, GSAS
student

“I think what we are going to see is a big step forward for Greece. The Syriza government put their credibility on the line with their voters and already put new policies in place that show they aren’t all talk.”

— Scott Cairns, CAS senior

“Time and time again, Greece has been given handouts in an effort to keep afloat a sinking ship. Greece has shown it has the upper hand in the bargaining table, knowing full well the EU will do everything in their power to keep Greece in the Union. I doubt actual reform will happen in these 4 months. The problem has always been the corrupt spending culture that has pervaded both the Greek government and society for decades.”

— Tate Chan, CAS freshman

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Feb. 24 print edition. Email Marita Vlachou at [email protected].