Greece’s prime minister Alexis Tspiras will hold talks with EU officials later on Wednesday in what has been branded as “a last chance” to strike a
Greece’s prime minister Alexis Tspiras will hold talks with EU officials later on Wednesday in what has been branded as “a last chance” to strike a deal with its creditors.
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The Greek premier will meet with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at 2030 CET in Brussels to discuss how the debt-laden country’s finances.
Athens is unable to raise money on the international bond markets and is counting on the disbursement of a 7.2-billion-euro aid tranche to pay public salaries and pensions.
Tsprias has drawn up a plan of his own to tap those bailouts funds; he plans to discuss it with Juncker.
“It (the proposal) will allow Greece to escape financial asphyxiation as well as provide space for recovery; it will put an end to the Grexit scenarios and, finally, it will put an end to the disaster scenarios,” he said.
But the European Commission is downplaying expectations ahead of the meeting with its president, Jean-Claude Juncker.
“We do not expect any final outcome tonight. this is a first discussion, not a concluding one,” said a Commission spokesman.
But Tspiras will need to convince the bloc’s political power brokers: French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Hollande said earlier on Wednesday that he believed an agreement was just days away.
Athens must stump up 300 million euros to the IMF on Friday.
It is the first payment of the 1.6 billion euros that is due to the global financial institution this month.