Divisions remain between Greece and eurozone finance minister as crisis talks resume in Brussels

By Euronews

Published on 24/06/2015 - 14:36

Athens remains at odds with the IMF as international creditors present counter-proposals to Greece's reforms.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras appeared stony faced as he arrived in Brussels to meet with international creditors, offering no comment to the press.

A bailout deal may be on the rocks after Tsipras slammed the IMF for rejecting Athen’s reform proposals. Greece has apparently rejected a series of counter-proposals.

The new #IMF proposals to the Greek government via @EFSYNTAKTON and @NikosSverkos http://t.co/TxkBVTYKsh
— EfiKoutsokosta (@Efkouts) June 24, 2015

It has dented hopes of bridging gaps on an agreement to avoid a default and a potential eurozone exit.

Athens had proposed increasing VAT, corporate tax and pension contributions to shore up their finances. The IMF is said to be less than convinced over tax rises, while eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said simply that there is work to be done. The Greek prime minister is also under pressure back home not to give any ground to the lenders on austerity.

Time is running out for a deal. The June 30 deadline when Greece is due to repay 1.6 billion euros to the IMF is approaching fast and a failure to pay means a default.

Earlier on the talks were being seen as simply a case of signing off on the new proposals, but now it looks likely they will stretch into the night.

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