Greek debt talks stumble but Eurozone ministers ‘will break the deadlock’

Eurozone ministers will make another attempt to break the deadlock in the Greek debt crisis after the latest talks lasted little more than an hour. The 19 ministers will return to the negotiating table in Brussels on Thursday to try and finalise a debt deal and avoid a default by Athens.Their deliberations will take place alongside a meeting of EU leaders, who are holding a two-day summit in Brussels. They will almost certainly find themselves drawn into the Greek debt negotiations. Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras also held late-night talks with heads of key creditor institutions in the hope of smoothing over differences on the reforms proposed by Athens.

We are prepared to work all night, but we had nothing real to work with. The loss of trust is becoming extreme… It is hard to see how we can go on.

One eurozone official told Reuters.

But by the time Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis sat down with his 18 counterparts across the street, the negotiations had not produced a draft text. So the finance ministers wound up a meeting on Wednesday evening after barely an hour because no deal was ready for them to talk about. Hopes of a settlement were fading after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cast doubts on Greece’s new debt plan. The IMF was cautious about the mix of reforms Greece proposed, saying they rely too heavily on tax increases that can hurt the economy. It wants more spending cuts because of the possible effect of tax rises on businesses.

It is a negotiation between the institutions and the Greek government. We have not been able to throw anything back at anyone because there’s nothing on the table.

Finnish finance minister Alexander Stubb.

greece Business