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                        EU Faces Decision Day on Greece

   by Lisa Bryant

   Finance ministers from the 19-member euro currency union are talking
   again Sunday on whether to grant Greece a new bailout after failing to
   reach a decision the night before. It is a crucial day for Athens, with
   eurozone leaders set to meet later on its fate.

   This is supposed to be decision day on Greece. Will members of the
   19-member euro currency union agree that Athens should qualify for more
   bailout funds? Or will they reject reforms proposed by the Greek
   government; a move that could lead to financial chaos for Athens and a
   possible exit from the eurozone?

   After reaching no decision Saturday, eurozone finance ministers
   arriving for more talks early Sunday offered a mixed forecast.

   Pierre Moscovici, the European Union's top economy official says the
   Greek government has to "do more -- in the short- and the mid-term,''
   reports Reuters.

   "The deal needs to be ambitious at an economic level and realistic at a
   political level,'' Moscovici said.

   Finance Minister Alexander Stubb of Finland -- one of the biggest
   skeptics -- put the state of the talks at between 3-4 on a scale of 10.

   "What we are saying is that the conditionality that has been presented
   by the Greeks is simply not enough at this stage. We need to have clear
   commitments, clear conditionality and clear proof that those conditions
   will be implemented at the end of the day. That's pretty much where we
   stand," he said.

   Cyprus Finance Minister Harris Georgiades, whose own country received
   an EU bailout, was more optimistic, discounting chances of a possible
   Greek exit from the eurozone.

   "I do think that we now have a good base which should enable us to
   continue to the next phase -- to the phase of the detailed negotiation
   of the drafting of an MOU which will create prospects for Greece.
   Greece needs an ambitious reform fund and this is what we should
   mandate the institutions to negotiate today," said Gerogiades.

   Still many officials believe it will be a difficult day of talks.
   Greece's finance minister made no comment as he arrived Sunday.

   'On the table is a package of reforms proposed by Greek Prime Minister
   Alexis Tsipras, with backing from Greek lawmakers. Some reforms are
   even tougher than those presented by Greece's creditors -- and which
   Greek voters rejected in a referendum. In return, Greece is asking for
   nearly $60 billion in new bailout funds -- although experts predict it
   will actually need billions more to restructure its debt.


   Eurozone leaders are meeting in the afternoon. A full meeting of all 28
   European Union leaders that was due later in the day has been called
   off.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/eu-faces-decision-day-on-greece/28585
   04.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/eu-faces-decision-day-on-greece/2858504.html