Eurozone Talks On Possible Greek Bailout Remain Inconclusive

By Scott Neuman

Published July 11, 2015 at 3:40 PM CDT

Updated at 6:35 p.m. ET

Eurozone finance ministers met Saturday to decide if they will bail Greece out for a third time since 2010, but the meetings wrapped up with no announced decision. The ministers remain skeptical that Athens would live up to the terms of any fresh agreement.

Talks are scheduled to resume Sunday.

The New York Times reports: "The meeting began only hours after the Greek Parliament overwhelmingly approved a proposed package of pension cuts, higher taxes and other policy changes that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras put forth a few days ago — a plan that looked remarkably similar to bailout conditions that he had previously rejected and that the Greek public had turned down by a wide margin in a referendum last week."

Meanwhile, Reuters says the finance ministers have been told that 25 billion euros is needed simply to recapitalize Greece's battered banking system after the crisis prompted fearful Greeks to withdraw their euros in anticipation of a possible all-out financial collapse.

The Associated Press quotes an unnamed European official as saying that international creditors want proof from the Greek government that it will stick to its reform promises despite having reneged on some of the same terms for previous bailouts.

The AP says that "the International Monetary Fund is urging euro zone governments to reschedule Greek debts, with one scenario being a doubling of loan maturities to 60 years from 30 to ease Athens' repayment burden.

According to the AP: "Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras applied this week for a three-year loan from the European Stability Mechanism of 53.5 billion euros. EU and IMF experts who analyzed Greece's funding needs concluded it would need some 74 billion euros, the sources said."