Brussels--The EU hailed as a positive step Tuesday the exchange of proposals between Greece and its international creditors, with time running out to strike a deal in make-or-break bailout talks.
"Many documents are being exchanged between the institutions and the Greek authorities... The fact that documents are being exchanged is a good sign," European Commission spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said.
But the spokeswoman warned that it was too early to talk of any deal between Greece and the European Union and the International Monetary Fund that would unlock 7.2 billion euros and help Athens make a critical repayment on Friday.
"We're not there yet," Breidthardt said.
But a European source close to the negotiations said that talks had entered a crucial phase.
"There is a clear political push to complete a deal this week," the source said on condition of anonymity.
Greece's current bailout expires at the end of the month and any new agreement to unlock cash will require parliamentary approval in several eurozone states, which takes time.
"The parliament timeline is the problem," the source added.
Late Monday the heads of the IMF and the European Central Bank met with the leaders of Germany, France and the head of the European Commission to reportedly come up with a "final proposal" to put to Athens.
The proposal from the creditors "would have a different level of ambition of what the Greeks are offering but remain in the continuity of the talks so far," the source said.
The European Commission meanwhile refused to directly confirm that it had received a reform plan from Greece, which Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Athens had submitted on Monday night.
"It's not possible to just comment on one single one," said another Commission spokeswoman, Mina Andreeva.
A Greek government source told AFP that a 46-page draft agreement had been submitted on Monday, but declined to go into further detail.
EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told French radio earlier Monday that there had been "serious progress" in the Greek debt talks but that there was still work to be done.
Greece is staring at a Friday deadline to repay over 300 million euros ($328 million) it owes to the IMF. Overall it needs to repay the global lender some 1.6 billion euros this month, funds it currently lacks.
AFP
