RIGA, Latvia (AP) — European creditors have been turning up the heat on Greece today. They’re pressing Greek officials to deliver an economic reform program that the country will need in order to avoid a possible default — and even an exit from the euro currency group.
At a meeting today in Latvia, Greece’s finance minister heard a series of rebukes from his counterparts in the eurozone for failing to come up with a comprehensive list of economic reforms.
The eurozone’s top official calls it a “very critical discussion.”
Others spoke of being “tired” and “annoyed” with the way the talks were going. Austria’s finance minister says they made those points “very vigorously.”
Two months ago, Greece won an agreement from the eurozone under which it would get the remaining money in its bailout fund — about $7.7 billion — but only if it came up with a set of reforms that everyone could agree on.
There are just days to go before that deadline, and Athens has yet to present a full list.
European officials are now talking of a new deadline at the end of June. That’s when the European part of Greece’s bailout program officially ends.
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176-a-16-(Jeroen Dijsselbloem (yuh-ROON’ DYS’-ehl-bloom), Dutch finance minister and Eurogroup president, at news conference)-“far from that”-Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem says Greece’s finance minister heard criticism from his peers in the 19-country eurozone for failing to come up with a list of economic reforms. (24 Apr 2015)
<<CUT *176 (04/24/15)££ 00:16 "far from that"
177-a-13-(Jeroen Dijsselbloem (yuh-ROON’ DYS’-ehl-bloom), Dutch finance minister and Eurogroup president, at news conference)-“significantly more progress”-Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem says there is concern among the finance ministers of countries using the Euro about the new Greek government’s lack of progress toward economic reform. (24 Apr 2015)
<<CUT *177 (04/24/15)££ 00:13 "significantly more progress"
APPHOTO MOSB137: Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, center, prepares to be photographed with other participants at the Informal Meeting of Ministers for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Union in Riga, Latvia on Friday, April 24, 2015. Greece’s finance minister came under fire Friday from his peers in the 19-country eurozone for failing to come up with a comprehensive list of economic reforms that are needed if the country is to get vital loans to avoid going bankrupt. (Dmitris Sulzics/F64 Photo Agency via AP) (24 Apr 2015)
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