ATHENS, (MILLAT/APP/AFP) – Top EU economic
affairs official Pierre Moscovici met Greek leaders in Athens on Wednesday in a bid to break the deadlock between the cash-strapped country and its creditors.
The visit by the former French finance minister comes after months of
failed talks between Athens and its eurozone and International Monetary Fund
(IMF) lenders, raising fears of a fresh debt crisis.
The feuding has blocked new loans from Greece’s 86 billion euro bailout that it needs for debt repayments of 7.0 billion euros ($7.44 billion) this summer.
“We still have a long way to go before a final agreement,” Moscovici was reported as saying by Greek media before his meetings.
After talks with Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, the EU commissioner — who is considered a Greek ally — spoke of progress and hopes for a solution, saying: “Where there is a will, there is a way.”
His trip comes five days before a gathering of eurozone ministers in
Brussels, which is seen as an unofficial deadline to end the stalemate ahead of important elections in Europe.