With Greece and Eurozone Creditors Far Apart, Bailout Talks Collapse

Eurozone finance ministers have designated Friday as the deadline for the country to accept yet another austerity-filled deal, but Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has made it clear he will not rest until an “honorable agreement” is negotiated.

The Guardian:

Effectively presenting Greece with an ultimatum, the eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers said Athens had until Friday to agree to maintain the current bailout under the auspices of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund – something that Greece has said is unacceptable.

Greece’s finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, made it clear in the acrimonious discussions in Brussels on Monday that Greece would not accept prolonging the bail out for six months unless the other 18 members of the eurozone agreed to water down the austerity conditions attached to the deal…“We are going to meet half way during the next couple of days,” he said. “Europe will do the usual trick, it will pull a good agreement, an honourable agreement, out of what appears to be an impasse.”

The Syriza-led coalition in Athens is convinced that, despite the tough language used by Germany, it can secure more favourable terms by holding out until closer to the 28 February deadline when its current €172bn (£127bn) bailout expires.

Read More.

—Posted by Natasha Hakimi Zapata