08.02.2012
By Simon Miller
Greek politicians have missed a third deadline to agree a deal that will see them receive €130bn (£108bn) in bailouts.
For the third day running, politicians from across the political spectrum failed to reach an agreement over further austerity measures that have been demanded by the European Union and the International Monetary Union before the country can receive a bailout.
With protests and rioting on the streets of Athens, the three main parties delayed a meeting on Tuesday to try and find another €1.3bn of cuts although the meeting to approve measures is now expected to start at 12.00 GMT.
The delays risks international embarassment for prime minister Lucas Papademos as he seeks to avoid a default on a €14.5bn bond on 20 March.
With tensions rising over Greek delays, Neelie Kroes, the Dutch vice-president of the European Commission (EC), told the Volkskrant newspaper that perhaps it would be better for Greece to leave as it was "absolutely not a case of man overboard if someone leaves the eurozone".
However, EC president Jose Manuel Barroso warned that the costs of a default of Greece and the costs of a possible exit of Greece from the euro, "would be much higher than the costs of continuing to support Greece".
Other stories you may find of interest:
Holding out for a debt restructure
Greece stands before a default abyss but, as Simon Miller discovers, before it rushes to restructure, there are litigating risks from international trade treaties to consider
MMFs find concentration of risks
Euro and sterling denominated European money market funds have a concentration of risk according to a note from Fitch Ratings.
