ATHENS: High-ranking EU officials meet in Berlin to discuss coming up a “final proposal” to present to Greece ahead of Athens’ first €300 million due to the IMF on Friday. International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde and European Central Bank President Mario Draghi met in Berlin late last night with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in an attempt to reach a deal with Athens over Greece’s debt crisis.
They were joined by EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and French President Francois Hollande in a meeting that was reportedly aimed at coming up with a “final proposal” to present to Athens. After the meeting, a spokesperson for Merkel told the AFP news agency that the five of them agreed to work together “intensely” in the coming days and would stay in “close contact”.
Athens is facing insolvency and must make €1.6 billion in payments to the International Monetary Fund within the next few weeks, with the first payment of €300 million due on Friday. Greece remains at deadlock with its international creditors over the release of €7.2 billion in remaining bailout funds. The bailout release would pave the way for further negotiations one third rescue package for Greece, which could involve a write-down of its unsustainable debt.
