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

The financing deal is expected to be announced on Friday after national parliaments have voted on the aid accord that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras pushed through his legislature on Monday, according to an official with knowledge of the discussion, who asked not to be named because the talks are private. Member states also must consider whether to move ahead with the full bailout proposed for Greece.

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