BRUSSELS — Bailout discussions between the Greek finance minister and his skeptical counterparts in the 19-country eurozone will resume Sunday after breaking up following more than eight hours of talks without any apparent breakthrough that will secure the country’s future in the euro.
During talks on Saturday, Greece clearly failed to give what its creditors in the eurozone have been demanding — iron-clad proof that it can deliver on its promises to implement tough austerity and reform measures in return for billions more in rescue money.
The talks will resume a few hours before the European Union’s 28 leaders are meant to descend on Brussels for a summit that has been billed over the past week as Greece’s last chance to convince creditors that it deserves more financial help.
In Finland, another hard-hit eurozone country, there were reports that the coalition government was balking at further assistance for Greece — a failure to give Greece a rescue package could see the country’s economy collapse.
The pressure was on Greece all day Saturday even after the Greek parliament passed a harsh austerity package it hopes will lead to a three-year bailout. Finance ministers and top officials of the eurozone said the same thing as they arrived for the meeting in Brussels: They don’t fully trust Greece to make good on its promises.
Greece’s left-wing Syriza government, they said, needed to do a lot more than just publish a 13-page plan of reform commitments before they could sign off on another multibillion-euro bailout deal that would keep the country afloat and prevent its exit from the euro.
A European official at the talks said creditors want “more specific and binding commitments” from the Greek government.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he’s not authorized to talk publicly, says there’s a general feeling in the room that the Greek proposals are “too little, too late” and, as such, more proof of the government’s commitment to follow through is required. The official said those pledges don’t “necessarily have to be austerity measures.”
Greece is running out of time. The Sunday summit of European Union leaders could be its last chance to prevent the collapse of the banking sector and an inevitable exit from the euro currency. Lawmakers in the Greek parliament have overwhelmingly backed a package of economic reforms and further austerity measures, in the hope that it will persuade its European partners to back a third bailout of the country. Greece has made a request to Europe’s bailout fund for a 53.5 billion euro ($59.5 billion), three-year financial package.
Still, the proposed measures, such as changes to pensions and sales taxes, don’t appear to be enough, just yet. After months of deteriorating relations, creditors are demanding legislative action to back up proposals.
