Questions remain about the future of Greece
Eurozone finance ministers wrapped up their meeting in Brussels in the early hours of Wednesday without reaching an agreement on Greece’s next round of bailout money.
This time, the delay had little to do with Greece, which has accepted drastic spending cuts to fulfil the bailout requirements.
“The problem lies with the creditors, the European Uunion and the IMF,” says the BBC’s Mark Lowen in Athens. “They are split on how to deal with Greece in the long-term. What they want is to form some kind of long term strategy to reduce Greece’s debt to a more manageable level before they give the country yet more bailout funds.”
Greece’s bailout program aims to reduce debt to 120 percent of GDP by 2020 from its current level of 180 percent. Eurozone ministers favor giving Greece an extra two years, to 2022, to reach this level, but the IMF has resisted any extension.
Lowen reports that, in Northern Europe, the Greek bailout is still unpopular.
So far, Greece has received nearly $190 billion from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund.
Another meeting to discuss the plan is scheduled for Monday.
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