Euro-area finance ministers authorized a 7 billion-euro ($7.6billion) bridge loan to Greece, according to Irish Prime MinisterEnda Kenny, paving the way for a third bailout that may allowEurope's most indebted nation to stay in the common currency.

The financing deal is expected to be announced on Friday afternational parliaments have voted on the aid accord that PrimeMinister Alexis Tsipras pushed through his legislature on Monday,according to an official with knowledge of the discussion, whoasked not to be named because the talks are private. Member statesalso must consider whether to move ahead with the full bailoutproposed for Greece.

The short-term financing is needed so that Greece can meet a 3.5billion-euro payment due to the European Central Bank on Monday,and keep the country afloat while Tsipras negotiates the details ofa three-year bailout of as much as 86 billion euros. That aidpackage would come from the euro-area's permanent firewall fund,the European Stability Mechanism.

“I would expect that Mario Draghi will consider now turning onthe tap to some extent of emergency liquidity to keep the banks inGreece having money for their customers,” Kenny said in aninterview with Irish broadcaster RTE, referring to the president ofthe ECB.

The bridge loan will come from the European FinancialStabilisation Mechanism, the European Union's rescue fund, theofficial said. The EU is still working on safeguards to shieldnon-euro nations from Greek bailout risk, European Commissionspokeswoman Annika Breidthardt told reporters in Brussels.

“Once adopted the funds could be disbursed rapidly,”Breidthardt said in reference to the bridge financing.

Euro-zone officials are trying to find a way to make the rescueprogram work after the bloc's leaders thrashed out a deal during 17hours of talks. Tsipras cleared his first hurdle when he wonsupport in the Greek parliament for a new round of austerity in avote in the early hours of Thursday.

For the bridge loan to proceed, it needs approval from all 28 EUnations. Finance ministry deputies are planning to hold anotherconference call Thursday with the intention of signing off on adeal by Friday.

Safeguards for non-euro area nations will be needed to winsupport from the U.K., Denmark and others who've said they won'tapprove an EFSM loan if their taxpayers are at risk.

“We think it's an important principle that we are not having themoney of British tax payers used to support euro zone bailout,”Helen Bower, a spokeswoman for U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron,told reporters Thursday in London.

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