ATHENS — The Greek government on March 1 launched a new restructuring process for over-indebted enterprises, offering the opportunity to both enterprises and the self-employed to settle their debts and continue their business activity, the finance ministry said in an announcement on Thursday.

The restructuring process has three steps: first, the drafting of a report by an expert and a plan on the restructuring of debt; second, evaluation of the expert's report and approval of the restructuring plan by creditors; and third, ratification of the restructuring agreement by court.

If an enterprise faces non-reversible sustainability problems and cannot be included in the restructuring process, then it will have to follow the second-chance process leading to a full write-off of debt and the liquidation of its assets. This process offers the boards of these enterprises exemption from debt if they did not act with deceit.