Brussels: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will meet European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday for make-or-break bailout talks with a deadline looming for Athens to make a critical repayment.
Greece and its international creditors are at a critical phase in talks to reach a deal to unlock 7.2 billion euros ($8.0 billion) to help Athens make Friday`s 300 million euro repayment to the IMF.
But months of fractious talks have been stalled over creditors` insistence that Athens undertake greater reforms which Greece`s anti-austerity government has refused to match.
Without a deal by the end of this week, fears are growing that Greece could default, possibly setting off a chain reaction that could end with a messy exit from the eurozone and cause havoc to the economy in Europe and the world.
The fate of Greece will be central to the European Central Bank monthly policy meeting also on Wednesday in Frankfurt, with analysts listening out for what president and key player Mario Draghi has to say about the Greek situation.
"We suspect that Draghi and colleagues will maintain a hard line on Greece," said Capital Economics economist Jonathan Loynes.
Aides to Tsipras said the young premier was coming to Brussels to present Juncker his government`s 46-page proposal to overhaul the Greek economy and meet the demands of its bailout.
European sources confirmed the meeting, which would take place later in the evening in Brussels and could reportedly also include Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup.Greece`s creditors, the EU, IMF and ECB, are widely understood to have their own plan to lay on the table, one that includes measures the Greek government has repeatedly refused over the past four months of fruitless negotiations.
"It is not a take-it-or-leave-it document but an initiative to accelerate talks as the timing to get a deal in time for the end of the month is getting tight," a European source close to the negotiations told AFP.
The more than 300 million euros that Greece must pay to the IMF on Friday is part of a total 1.6 billion euros it needs to repay the global lender this month, funds it currently lacks.
Dijsselbloem, who is also the Dutch finance minister, said he was unimpressed with progress made in the debt talks, after Athens claimed its plan was a "realistic" one.
Tsipras on Tuesday raised hope of a breakthrough, with the leader of Greece`s left-wing Syriza government telling reporters: "We have made concessions because a negotiation demands concessions, we know these concessions will be difficult."But Dijsselbloem said he was unimpressed by the progress, saying on Tuesday that it was "really not enough".
"We`re still nowhere far enough, that`s the conclusion, and time is pressing," Dijsselbloem said.
He told Dutch television that while there could be some concessions on the bailout package, there would be no half-way compromises.
The IMF and the ECB met with the leaders of Germany and France and the head of the European Commission on Monday to reportedly come up with a proposal to put to Athens.
French Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said in Paris after a meeting with German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel that they were "confident of the chance for an accord (after) extremely intense Franco-German work on the subject of Greece."
Tsipras has defended his government`s determination to bolster labour rights in a country staggering under massive unemployment.
As a compromise, he promised to implement a series of privatisations that he had previously opposed, and to reform the value-added tax system as well as the pension system.
"I am confident, I believe the political leadership of Europe will approach our positions with respect and join the side of realism," Tsipras said Tuesday.
But Tsipras is under pressure from his party`s influential radical wing to reject any reform plan that piles more austerity on the recession-hit country.
"We do not accept ultimata or succumb to blackmail," Deputy Prime Minister Yiannis Dragasakis said in a tweet on Tuesday.
Other officials said the government would rather hold snap elections than accept a deal with more austerity.
