‘Significant gap’ remains as Greece talks break down

Fears were increasing last night that a last-ditch deal for Greece will not be agreed before Thursday's key Eurogroup meeting, after discussions between Greek officials and negotiators ended prematurely in Brussels.

Informal talks resumed between Greek officials and representatives of its creditors on Saturday afternoon in Brussels, and recommenced on Sunday, but the meeting ended early amid sharp differences between the two sides.

A European Commission spokesman said last night that “a significant gap” remains between the two sides, a gap equating to between 0.5 per cent and 1 per cent of GDP, the equivalent of €2 billion of fiscal measures on an annual basis. Despite attempts at a deal this weekend, the spokesman said, talks “did not succeed”.

“There remains a significant gap between the plans of the Greek authorities and the joint requirements of the Commission, ECB and IMF . . . President Juncker remains convinced that, with stronger reform efforts on the Greek side and political will on all sides, a solution can still be found before the end of the month.”

Deal needed

With euro-zone finance ministers scheduled to meet in Luxembourg on Thursday, there is widespread conviction that a deal needs to be agreed beforehand to ensure that a reform deal can be ratified by national parliaments. In a sign of hardening public opinion in Germany, Sigmar Gabriel, the leader of German chancellor Angela Merkel's junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats, said that, while he wanted to keep Greece in the euro, patience was wearing thin.

Time running out

"Not only is time running out but so too is patience across Europe," the vice-chancellor wrote in Bild newspaper. "The shadow of an exit of Greece from the euro zone takes on an ever clearer shape. Repeated, apparently final, attempts to reach a deal are starting to make the whole process look ridiculous. There is an ever greater number of people who feel as if the Greek government is giving them the runaround."

While Mr Gabriel has previously indicated a level of support for Syriza’s position, his message chimes with deepening public frustration about Greece in the euro zone’s largest country. With the Greek crisis dominating Germany’s weekend newspapers, a poll for television station ZDF on Friday showed that 51 per cent of Germans want Greece to leave the euro, with 70 per cent opposed to further concessions for Greece.

While talks at official level were cut short in Brussels, discussions could take place between German chancellor Angela Merkel and Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras in the coming days in a bid to secure some kind of deal.