It’s down to the wire for Greece, but Europe is playing hardball.
Greek leaders are in Brussels Monday hoping to negotiate a deal that would keep the country in the eurozone without having to maintain austerity reforms.
But things are not looking great for them.
The gathering has been labeled Greece’s last chance, after all previous talks failed.
The country’s 240 billion euros bailout program is set to expire at the end of February. Without an extension, Greek banks could be cut off from their cash lifeline later this week, and Greece could be ultimately forced out of the eurozone.
The biggest Greek banks were in the red ahead of the meeting, with Piraeus down 11% on Monday morning and Eurobank 10% lower.
Greece’s new government, led by anti-austerity party Syriza, wants to tear up the existing program and win six months of bridge financing to give it breathing space to negotiate a longer term solution.
But Europe is standing firm: Greece must honor the terms of the package, before it can talk about ways to ease the burden and boost growth.
German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said he was skeptical about any agreement on Monday. Speaking to a German radio station ahead of the meeting, Schauble said Greece has been living beyond its means for a long time and cannot expect others to pay it more.
Schauble and other European leaders are trying to protect eurozone taxpayers, who have poured nearly 200 billion euros into Greek bailouts.
Several countries, such as Germany and Finland, would have to seek their parliaments’ approval on any new bailout package.
The Greek government has come to Brussels with a strong mandate from its voters — dozens of support rallies took place across the country on Sunday.
But the economic reality is biting. GDP figures published Friday showed Greece’s economy shrank in the fourth quarter of 2014 after growing for the first nine months of the year. The government’s tax revenues fell almost one billion euros below target in January, as Greeks held off paying taxes before the election, hoping Syriza would scrap unpopular levies.
Analysts say that even if a deal is agreed on Monday, it’s likely to be a short term solution. “It is likely only to tackle Greece’s near-term financing requirements and hence kick the can down the road,” Jonathan Loynes from Capital Economics said.