A deal on keeping Greece afloat and providing more bailout money for the near-bankrupt state is unlikely to be reached next week when euro zone finance ministers meet in Brussels, a senior EU official said on Monday.
According to Reuters, the official, who was attending the meeting of G20 finance ministers in Mexico City, said the euro zone still had to find a formula to make the Greek debt sustainable and finance it and that several countries, including Germany, also had to discuss the matter with their parliaments.
Athens also needs to push through spending cuts and tax measures worth 13.5 billion euros ($17.5 billion) as well as a raft of economic reforms to satisfy EU and IMF lenders.
“The November 12 meeting will not be the final stage. We’re not so much under the gun as it may seem,” the official said, adding that Greece could meet its financial obligations without further financial assistance until the end of November or even early December.
“A deal is still likely in November, but not necessarily on November 12,” the official also said. “There will be no deal until there is a deal on all the different strings of the package. We will not disburse the next tranche until all details are in place”.
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