Greek PM to meet eurozone leaders this week
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras needs to convince the rest of the eurozone of Greece's efforts
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is to hold meetings with eurozone leaders this week, which could help determine the fate of his country in the bloc.
Mr Samaras is expected to request more time to meet deficit cutting targets.
At issue is whether international creditors will release 31.5bn euros ($38.8bn; £24.7bn) in loans next month, which Greece needs to avoid a default.
But the Greek leader will have to do much convincing during talks in Europe where patience is wearing thin.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has pledged support for Greece but urged it to stick to its reforms.
"The German government wants us to remain together in the eurozone [but] the key to success lies in Athens," he told Greek counterpart Dimitris Avramopoulos in Berlin in a meeting ahead of Mr Samaras' tour this week.
Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose government has in the past publicly discussed a possible Greek exit, said he thought Greece would be forced to default on its debts.
"We certainly do not hope this will happen, but without further support or changes to its programme it looks likely," he told the BBC.
He said a Greek exit was being talked about among eurozone governments, although "not on official terms".
Greece is still under pressure to cut ever deeper to secure the next tranche of its international loan.
It needs the 31.5bn euros over the next few weeks in order to stave off bankruptcy. But for that it must find a huge package of savings worth 11.5bn euros.
It is thought that the Greek government is almost there in terms of identifying what will be cut from the public purse.
Pensions and welfare benefits will be slashed and another 34,000 civil servants are to go.
The Greek PM will put these measures to the head of the eurogroup on Wednesday and he will discuss them with Chancellor Merkel and Francois Hollande later in the week.
He will also broach the topic of whether Greece will get another two years to reduce its deficit, to try to reduce the pain on the Greek people.
Whether or not he will get it is another thing altogether.
"I would expect that this is something that is being referred to in the corridors. This is something that everyone is looking into but it is not something that can or should be discussed openly," he said.
'Transparent procedure'
On Wednesday, Mr Samaras is expected to meet Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg premier who heads the group of eurozone finance ministers.
The Greek PM will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday and French President Francois Hollande on Saturday.
However, the German leader's spokesman played down the significance of the talks.
"I can tell you what is not expected... that strong positions will be laid out or significant decisions taken. That will not happen," Steffen Seibert told reporters.
Mr Samaras' expected plan to request a two-year extension on its austerity programme has provoked frustration among other European politicians with Athens.
"There's a process we're engaged in to evaluate the efforts made by Greece in recent months, which we know was set back by elections," European Affairs Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on France's Europe 1 radio. "We'll evaluate the situation and try to take a common position."
"It's important to let the Greeks express their request clearly, to let the Troika report and then to hold discussions between European countries to find the right position," he added.
In an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio, Germany's deputy finance minister, Steffen Kampeter, said: "It is important that both sides should keep to what we agreed. We will decide in an orderly, fair and transparent procedure in Europe. The key to this lies not in Berlin, but in Athens."
Some politicians in Germany have opposed giving more leeway to Greece.
Michael Fuchs, deputy chairman of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU parliamentary group, said his faction would not give Greece the two-year extension it wants on its austerity programme.
"We have decided - the CDU-CSU faction in the Bundestag - that there would be no more expansion at all," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.
"We think that it's enough time and it's very difficult for us to explain to our constituencies in light of next year's elections why we are giving them more time."
"I really think Greece has to find a solution for themselves first before we can help them anymore."
Troika report
The release of the latest tranche of aid will hinge on findings published next month by inspectors - representing the EU, International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank - regarding how much progress Greece has made on implementing reforms, particularly its spending cuts and efforts to raise revenue by clamping down on tax evasion.
"The basis for all decisions in the case of Greece is the report of the Troika," said German government spokesman Mr Seibert, referring to the trio of international creditors.
Stuck in recession, Greece is heavily in debt and has implemented more than 43bn euros worth of austerity measures since 2010 in order to try to bring down its budget deficit.
The German weekly Der Spiegel has reported that an initial assessment by the inspectors suggested Greece may need to cover a financing hole of up to 14bn euros over the next two years, rather than the 11.5bn Athens has identified for 2013 and 2014.
Last week, Greece was able to raise 4.06bn euros with an issue of three-month treasury bills, but the government had to offer an interest rate of 4.43% to attract investors.
It was expected to use this money to make a 3.2bn euro repayment, due to the European Central Bank on Monday. The ECB declined to comment on whether it had yet received the funds.
Prime Minister Antonis Samaras needs to convince the rest of the eurozone of Greece's efforts
Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras is to hold meetings with eurozone leaders this week, which could help determine the fate of his country in the bloc.
Mr Samaras is expected to request more time to meet deficit cutting targets.
At issue is whether international creditors will release 31.5bn euros ($38.8bn; £24.7bn) in loans next month, which Greece needs to avoid a default.
But the Greek leader will have to do much convincing during talks in Europe where patience is wearing thin.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has pledged support for Greece but urged it to stick to its reforms.
"The German government wants us to remain together in the eurozone [but] the key to success lies in Athens," he told Greek counterpart Dimitris Avramopoulos in Berlin in a meeting ahead of Mr Samaras' tour this week.
Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja, whose government has in the past publicly discussed a possible Greek exit, said he thought Greece would be forced to default on its debts.
"We certainly do not hope this will happen, but without further support or changes to its programme it looks likely," he told the BBC.
He said a Greek exit was being talked about among eurozone governments, although "not on official terms".
Greece is still under pressure to cut ever deeper to secure the next tranche of its international loan.
It needs the 31.5bn euros over the next few weeks in order to stave off bankruptcy. But for that it must find a huge package of savings worth 11.5bn euros.
It is thought that the Greek government is almost there in terms of identifying what will be cut from the public purse.
Pensions and welfare benefits will be slashed and another 34,000 civil servants are to go.
The Greek PM will put these measures to the head of the eurogroup on Wednesday and he will discuss them with Chancellor Merkel and Francois Hollande later in the week.
He will also broach the topic of whether Greece will get another two years to reduce its deficit, to try to reduce the pain on the Greek people.
Whether or not he will get it is another thing altogether.
"I would expect that this is something that is being referred to in the corridors. This is something that everyone is looking into but it is not something that can or should be discussed openly," he said.
'Transparent procedure'
On Wednesday, Mr Samaras is expected to meet Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg premier who heads the group of eurozone finance ministers.
The Greek PM will meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday and French President Francois Hollande on Saturday.
However, the German leader's spokesman played down the significance of the talks.
"I can tell you what is not expected... that strong positions will be laid out or significant decisions taken. That will not happen," Steffen Seibert told reporters.
Mr Samaras' expected plan to request a two-year extension on its austerity programme has provoked frustration among other European politicians with Athens.
"There's a process we're engaged in to evaluate the efforts made by Greece in recent months, which we know was set back by elections," European Affairs Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said on France's Europe 1 radio. "We'll evaluate the situation and try to take a common position."
"It's important to let the Greeks express their request clearly, to let the Troika report and then to hold discussions between European countries to find the right position," he added.
In an interview with Deutschlandfunk radio, Germany's deputy finance minister, Steffen Kampeter, said: "It is important that both sides should keep to what we agreed. We will decide in an orderly, fair and transparent procedure in Europe. The key to this lies not in Berlin, but in Athens."
Some politicians in Germany have opposed giving more leeway to Greece.
Michael Fuchs, deputy chairman of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU parliamentary group, said his faction would not give Greece the two-year extension it wants on its austerity programme.
"We have decided - the CDU-CSU faction in the Bundestag - that there would be no more expansion at all," he told BBC Radio 4's World at One programme.
"We think that it's enough time and it's very difficult for us to explain to our constituencies in light of next year's elections why we are giving them more time."
"I really think Greece has to find a solution for themselves first before we can help them anymore."
Troika report
The release of the latest tranche of aid will hinge on findings published next month by inspectors - representing the EU, International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank - regarding how much progress Greece has made on implementing reforms, particularly its spending cuts and efforts to raise revenue by clamping down on tax evasion.
"The basis for all decisions in the case of Greece is the report of the Troika," said German government spokesman Mr Seibert, referring to the trio of international creditors.
Stuck in recession, Greece is heavily in debt and has implemented more than 43bn euros worth of austerity measures since 2010 in order to try to bring down its budget deficit.
The German weekly Der Spiegel has reported that an initial assessment by the inspectors suggested Greece may need to cover a financing hole of up to 14bn euros over the next two years, rather than the 11.5bn Athens has identified for 2013 and 2014.
Last week, Greece was able to raise 4.06bn euros with an issue of three-month treasury bills, but the government had to offer an interest rate of 4.43% to attract investors.
It was expected to use this money to make a 3.2bn euro repayment, due to the European Central Bank on Monday. The ECB declined to comment on whether it had yet received the funds.