Greek debt crisis enters crucial 48 hours as optimism over bailout rises

23-Jun (Guardian) — Eurozone experts are meeting on Tuesday to hammer out a plan to keep Greece in the eurozone as emergency talks enter a critical 48 hours.

An intense day of back-to-back meetings between Greece and its creditors ended on Monday without a definitive deal, although senior eurozone leaders insisted they were closer to breaking five months of stalemate over the Greek bailout.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission, described an 11th-hour compromise proposal from the Greek government as a “major step” that would yield an agreement in the coming days.

“I am convinced that we will come up with a final agreement in the course of the week for the simple reason that we have to find an agreement this week,” he said.

…Greece and its creditors have just days to reach an agreement that will unlock bailout funds ahead of a crunch deadline on Tuesday 30 June when Greece is due to repay €1.6bn (£1.14bn) to the International Monetary Fund. Default could trigger a chaotic exit from the eurozone that both Greece and his creditors insist they are anxious to avoid.

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