Brussels--Greece will plead for leeway from an unwavering Europe on Monday, in a fresh effort to free up cash after months of deadlock in bailout talks.
The eurozone's 19 ministers meet in Brussels one day before Greece must pay a 750 million euro ($840 million) debt bill to the IMF that some fear the Mediterranean nation cannot afford.
But Greece's partners are unswayed by the threat of financial catastrophe in Athens, ruling out any chance of imminent compromise that could unlock even a portion of the money still owed from its bailout.
"We have made progress, but we are not very close to an agreement," said the head of the Eurogroup ministers, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, in an interview at the weekend.
"We need more time," he said.
Led by Germany, eurozone ministers demand that Greece impose a rigorous regime of reforms, which the leftist government in Athens, in power since January, has so far baulked at adopting.
With no overall deal in sight, officials said Greece is hoping for a "positive statement" on negotiations that will allow for a section of 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) in remaining bailout loans to be released.
The symbolic gesture would also help persuade the European Central Bank to keep emergency funds flowing to Greece's fragile banks at the current pace.
"We want a clear confirmation of the progress that has been made" in the talks, Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told a cabinet meeting on Sunday.
No one outside the Greek government knows for sure how long Athens can go without a deal to end Greece's 240 billion euro bailout, which began in 2010 and expires at the end of June.
Athens faces a harrowing repayment schedule over the coming weeks.
In June alone, Greece owes another 1.5 billion euros to the International Monetary Fund and it owes another three billion euros to the ECB in July and August.
According to sources in Athens, the loan repayment due on Tuesday to the IMF will be honoured on schedule.
AFP
