Greece’s bailout payment unlikely to be approved by Monday
Greek Bailout Cash ‘Unlikely to Be Unlocked on Monday’
Brussels officials say deal to release latest rescue funds may not be agreed at meeting of eurozone finance ministers
Greece faces a week of tense brinkmanship with its international paymasters after officials in Brussels conceded that a long-awaited deal to release €31.5bn of bailout cash is unlikely to be finalised on Monday.
Athens is due to repay €5bn-worth of debts next week, and had hoped to unlock the latest tranche of rescue funds at Monday’s meeting of eurozone finance ministers.
But privately senior officials in Brussels say that the Europeans and the IMF are in deep dispute about Greece.
Monday’s meeting, postponed from this week, had been expected to sign off on the payout delayed since the summer, after the Greek parliament’s adoption of a controversial new austerity package at the behest of its creditors. The parliament is also expected to pass a new budget on Sunday.
But the Brussels official said: “One round of discussions may not suffice to come to a final decision on the whole package. I am not pretending we’ll come to a result and a solution on this.”