BRUSSELS, May 2 (Reuters) - Euro zone heads of government and state are likely to meet next Friday or Saturday to approve an aid package for Greece, European diplomats said on Sunday.
The summit date will be announced after a meeting of finance ministers from the 16-country euro zone on Sunday which is expected to recommend activating the emergency loans for Athens, the sources said.
"The deal between Athens, Europe and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be cleared by finance ministers on Sunday, and then the loans should be unblocked in the second half of the next week following parliamentary approvals in each country involved," said one of the sources.
"Some participants don't want to take a decision until their parliaments have voted."
A second EU source indicated that the summit would be organised for Friday or Saturday and that the decision could be taken and announced on Sunday afternoon.
"One option is a working dinner on Friday evening," the source said.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said on several occasions that a final decision to unblock bilateral loans to Greece should be taken at the highest level and a summit of euro zone leaders should be organised for this.
Several other countries including France have said a meeting of finance ministers should be sufficient to approve the rescue package, but have not specifically opposed the idea of a summit.