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Eurozone talks stall as hard-liners unhappy with Greek proposals

Eurozone finance ministers are still negotiating with Greece in a bid to get a mandate for negoti...
Newstalk
Newstalk

07.20 11 Jul 2015


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Eurozone talks stall as hard-l...

Eurozone talks stall as hard-liners unhappy with Greek proposals

Newstalk
Newstalk

07.20 11 Jul 2015


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Eurozone finance ministers are still negotiating with Greece in a bid to get a mandate for negotiations for a third bailout.

Talks are very tense and some countries, in particular, Finland are taking a very hard line against Greece.

Shona Murray reports from Brussels:

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German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has reportedly again raised the prospect of a Greek withdrawal from the euro.

A newspaper has leaked a document from the ministry which reportedly considers a possible 5-year temporary exit for Greece, with €50bn in Greek assets to be held in an independent trust.

An emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers is continuing in Brussels this evening with a third bailout for Greece on the cards.

From Brussels, Shona Murray reports:

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan says trust needs to be rebuilt with the Greek government if any deal on a third bailout is to be made, though he says he is hopeful progress will be made.

Greece is seeking around €70bn from its international creditors, in exchange for reforms of its economy.

Minister Noonan is among those discussing the latest proposals from Greece, which must be approved at tomorrow's summit of EU leaders.

He said this weekend's talks are about building bridges:

Greece's parliament has backed the government's latest economic reform proposals aimed at securing another crucial EU bailout.

The plans detail how the Greek government intends to tackle the country's debt and avoid a possible exit from the eurozone.

They were backed by 251 of 300 deputies, meaning they can now be presented to the Greece's creditors as Athens seeks to obtain a new international bailout.

The measures are seen as a last chance to avert financial collapse, and the reforms have been given an initial green light by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

In a statement issued after the vote, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said he had a "strong mandate to complete the negotiations to reach an economically viable and socially fair agreement".

"The priority now is to have a positive outcome," he added.

The package includes a set of painful tax rises and pension reforms very similar to those rejected by the Greek people in last week's referendum.

In return, Athens is asking for a €53.5bn bailout from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the EU organisation that provides financial assistance for eurozone members.

Eurozone sources have said bailout talks are now highly likely after the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF said the proposals were sufficient basis to start negotiating conditional loans from the ESM.

But in a sign of potential trouble brewing, 10 members on the government benches either abstained or voted against the proposals and another seven were absent.

Ahead of the vote, Mr Tsipras acknowledged the proposals were a far cry from his party's pre-election promises.

Some have accused him of "caving in" to the EU after a milder bailout package was rejected in the referendum - at the urging of the government itself.

But Mr Tsipras said they were the only way for Greece to unlock the funds needed to avoid financial collapse.

Greece has had two bailouts worth €240bn from the eurozone and the IMF since 2010.

However its economy has shrunk by a quarter, unemployment stands at more than 25% and one in two young people are out of work.

Greek banks are will remain closed until at least next Monday and cash machine withdrawals are limited to €60 per day.


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