'Very difficult' talks on Greece halted

The Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers emerged from a marathon meeting in Brussels late Saturday without coming to an agreement on Greece's new reform proposals.

After leaving the talks, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters the negotiations were "still very difficult" and that "work is still in progress."

"We have had an in-depth discussion of the Greek proposals," Dijsselbloem said, adding that "credibility and trust" had been on the agenda.

The talks are expected to resume Sunday at 11 a.m. (0900 UTC), just hours before leaders from the EU's 28 member nations meet at a crucial summit to decide whether Greece should receive rescue funds.

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos is seeking to convince his country's international lenders - the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) - that Athens can make good on its pledge to implement the new reforms in exchange for a third bailout.

The proposed measures - which include a pension overhaul, tax hikes and privatizations - were approved by Greece's parliament on Saturday.

'Too little, too late'

Finance ministers leaving the crisis meeting in Brussels gave few details of the discussions, but sources suggested some officials had questioned whether Greece's proposals go far enough. According to a source quoted by news agency AP, creditors asked for "more specific and binding commitments" from the Greek government. The official added that there was a general feeling the proposals are "too little, too late."

Meanwhile, Germany's finance ministry has put forward a position paper calling on Greece to either vastly improve its bailout-linked reform plan, or take a five-year "time out" from the eurozone and restructure its debt.

A report in the German newspaper "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung" said the document criticizes the latest reforms, saying they fail to address "vitally important reform areas to modernize the country and to boost economic growth and sustainable development in the long term."

There were also signs of resistance from Finland, which, according to media reports, has decided it won't accept any new bailout deal for Greece.

Athens has asked its creditors for 53.5 billion euros ($59.5 billion) to keep it afloat over the next three years and prevent its exit from the euro. Greece has already received 240 billion euros in two previous bailouts in the last five years. If the country fails to secure extra funds from its creditors its financial system faces an almost certain collapse.

nm/jr (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)