If Greece does not pay the £1.1bn they owe to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by the end of this month, they could face a possible exit from the European Union.
Obstacles still remain even though many EU leaders have welcomed Greece’s most recent proposals.
The Eurozone finance ministers are believed to be finalising a deal that includes:
- New taxes on the wealthy and businesses.
- An increase in VAT.
- Increasing pension contributions and savings in pensions which is linked to preventing early retirement.
- No further reductions in public-sector wages or pensions.
Analysis from the BBC’s Europe Correspondent, Chris Morris:
Tsipras has been criticised by his own party members for giving up too much. But the country’s creditors might be about to ask for more, even though Greece has witnessed a quarter of its economy disappear.
At the moment, the proposal is far more focused on raising taxes, rather than lowering spending – even though the European Commission are trying to push through with the deal, the IMF do not seem impressed.
The element of trust seems to be lacking for Mr Tsipras. He has been told that he needs to get any deal approved by Greek Parliament to get legal backing. If he fails in this endeavour, he will need to resign.
Hans Joerg Schelling, Austria’s Finance Minister told Austrian ORF radio that the future of Greece would be “unforeseeable” if a solution does not emerge.
Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said the Greek proposals “constitute some progress”, but also warned that “there is a lot of work to be done and time is short”.
