Eurozone finance ministers late Tuesday
downplayed expectations that they would be able to strike a definite
deal on Greece's bailout, as they gathered in Brussels for a meeting
expected to release a new aid tranche.
A major issue to be settled is how to bridge a 32.6-billion-euro
(41.7-billion-dollar) gap in Greece's bailout, which was created
after the ministers last week agreed to give the country two extra
years to nurse its finances back to health.
Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter said she wanted to see "no
fresh money because it is difficult to explain to our taxpayers."
Other options on the table include an interest rate cut for Athens or
extending its loans' maturities.
French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici called for all eurozone
countries to "step over their red lines" to find a "robust" and
"permanent" solution.
A disagreement has also emerged among Greece's international
creditors over debt, with the Europeans and the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) split on whether Athens should have until 2020 or
2022 to cut it down to 120 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
"Everybody wants to see the Greek situation resolved. What's at
issue is the means of doing so," Irish Finance Minister Michael
Noonan told reporters before meeting his 16 Eurogroup counterparts.
"There are substantial issues that have to be resolved. I would
hope that if we sit late into the night they might be resolved, but
there's no certainty," he added.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble also said he "can't
promise" a solution being found Tuesday. Eurogroup president
Jean-Claude Juncker said he was "not completely confident."
But others insisted that it was high time for the ministers - who
are meeting for the second time in two weeks - to reach an agreement.
"It's very important for the future of the union that there be a
credible solution for Greece," said Spanish Economy Minister Luis de
Guindos, whose country has also been plagued by the debt crisis that
engulfed Greece.
"It's essential that we will be able to decide on a set of
credible measures on reducing the debt burden of Greece tonight,"
EU Economy Commissioner Olli Rehn added. "It's essential that we will
be able to clear the air from all uncertainty which is still hanging
over Greece and thus over the eurozone."
One thing the ministers were expected to finalize on Tuesday was
the release of a 31.5-billion-euro bailout tranche for Athens.
The funds should have been disbursed in June, but were delayed as
the Greek government raced to meet austerity and reform conditions
demanded by its troika of creditors - the European Commission, the
European Central Bank and the IMF.
Two weeks ago, the coalition government of conservative Prime
Minister Antonis Samaras narrowly passed a new package of salary
decreases, pension cuts and tax hikes totaling 13.5 billion euros.
The new austerity measures sparked several protests, bringing tens
of thousands of recession-weary demonstrators into the streets, as
the unemployment rate surged to more than 25 per cent.
Greek officials now hope that their efforts will be rewarded with
a rapid disbursement of bailout money.
"We are optimistic that things will work out in our favour this
evening," an official at the Greek Finance Ministry told dpa,
speaking on the condition of anonymity.
