European shares surged and the euro jumped on Friday amid hopes of an end to the long-running Greek debt crisis following Athens' request for a 53.5-billion-euro (59-billion-dollar) loan, dpa reported. The eurozone's blue-chip Euro Stoxx 50 was up 2.5 per cent in early morning trading, while the euro climbed 0.6 per cent to 1.1109 dollars. Markets were reacting to a new set of proposals submitted by the Greek government to Brussels late Thursday. Those proposals were set to be discussed by the Greek parliament later Friday and by EU leaders on Sunday. The Greek government is seeking a three-year loan worth more than 53 billion euros from the eurozone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), Greek financial website Capital.gr reported. The move is seen as a last-ditch effort to keep Greece in the eurozone. In return for more money, Athens is now prepared to accept a series of spending cuts, including pension savings and tax increases, similar to those presented by international creditors last month. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has told lawmakers from his SYRIZA party that the government has a mandate "to bring better deal" rather than "pull Greece out of the eurozone." The chairman of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, confirmed late Thursday to receiving the Greek government's proposals, which now expected to be assessed by the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank before being considered by eurozone finance ministers. -- SPA 13:03 LOCAL TIME 10:03 GMT تغريد
