ATHENS: European Union said Greece is running out of time to unfreeze the aid needed to keep the country afloat as they scramble to draw up contingency plans should negotiations collapse. weekly newspaper Die Zeit reported today that Germany is working on a proposal that would allow Greece to stay in the euro in the event of a sovereign default.
European officials are expressing skepticism that there’s enough time to work out a deal ahead of a meeting of euro-area finance ministers on April 24 in Riga, Latvia, to assess whether Greece has made enough progress to warrant a disbursement from its 240 billion-euro ($254 billion) bailout fund. Leaders are pressuring Greece to submit specific reforms by early next week as the country runs out of cash and faces debt payments and monthly salary and pension obligations in the coming weeks.
“Negotiations with Greece are ongoing,” von Tiesenhausen said. “This is a complex process and no one in the euro group expects that this could be completed by April 24.”
