Talks over the weekend between Greece and the European Commission on the country's debt crisis have failed to reach an agreement.

The Greek negotiating team, including Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, left the European Commission 45 minutes after they arrived.

It means Greece is more likely to miss a €1.5bn loan payment due at the end of the month, which could trigger problems on global markets.

A European Commission spokesperson said while that progress had been made, "significant gaps" remained.

Europe wants Greece to make spending cuts of €2bn in order to secure a deal to unlock bailout funds.

The matter will be taken up again at a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers on Thursday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is warning Athens that it will be forced to leave the single currency if they default on their loan.

But Syriza MEP Professor Kostas Chrysogonos told Newstalk Breafast that Greece cannot afford to exit the Eurozone as it stands.