IMF chief Christine Lagarde and the eurozone's 19 finance ministers meet in Luxembourg with hopes riding high that the talks will secure the release of the latest tranche of Greece's 86-billion euro (USD 97 billion) bailout agreed in 2015.
After more than eight hours of talks in Brussels, ministers from the 19-member single currency bloc could not settle deep differences on debt relief pitting Germany, the eurozone's most powerful member, against the IMF.
The International Monetary Fund and the 19-nation single currency area are battling over how much debt relief Greece needs, and over economic targets required of Athens that the IMF says are too stringent.
The International Monetary Fund and the 19-nation single currency area are battling over how much debt relief Greece needs, and over economic targets required of Athens that the IMF says are not realistic.
The ministers are expected to complete a long-stalled first review of Greece's massive EU-IMF bailout and discuss new debt relief measures at the crunch meeting today in Brussels, which follows mass public opposition to the newly adopted measures in the cash-strapped country.
The talks have already suffered months of delays and Greece wants to wrap them up as quickly as possible so that it can unlock the next tranche of its 86-billion-euro (USD 95 billion) bailout, ahead of a huge European Central Bank payment due in July.
Sources said the ministers want Greece to endorse further economic reforms in return for a third bailout estimated at more than 80 billion euros.
With the crisis reaching a climax that could have dire consequences for the global economy, the proposals from Athens landed yesterday in Brussels less than two hours before a midnight deadline.
Gustavo Bagattini, European Economist, FIC Strategy & Research, RBC Capital Markets says there are still hurdles over austerity measures in Greece which need to be overcome before the big EU meet.
Jose Manuel Barroso, president, EU Commission tells CNBC-TV18's Shereen Bhan that he agrees the austerity measures imposed on the Greek people will be painful to pursue.
Eurozone finance ministers will decide on Monday what terms of a Greek debt restructuring they are ready to accept as part of a second bailout package for Athens after negotiators for private creditors said they could not improve their offer.
In an interview on CNBC-TV18, Gary Baker, Head of European Equity Strategy at Bank of America Merrill Lynch gives his reading of the Eurozone situation.
Greece agreed with its EU and IMF lenders to impose yet deeper austerity and speed up state selloffs in exchange for fresh funds to avert a debt default, a senior official said on Thursday.
Euro zone finance ministers called on Monday for an increase in the effective lending capacity of the currency bloc's rescue fund, but EU paymaster Germany said there was no urgency and it would be March before a firm plan was in place.