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Euro zone finance ministers, collectively known
as the Eurogroup, meet on Wednesday and next Monday and EU
leaders at a summit, or European Council, this Thursday.
"These are the next steps but for the time being we have low
expectations that any final agreement will be tomorrow or at the
European Council," a Commission spokeswoman told a news
conference.
An EU official later said the target now was to clinch an
interim deal by Monday's scheduled meeting of the Eurogroup in
Brussels.
"This would give time for any ratification required by national
parliaments before the current EU bailout deal expires on
February 28," the official said, although cautioned against
setting "any fake deadlines".
Greece is seeking a new debt agreement with the euro zone that
will allow it to shake off much of the austerity imposed since
2010 by international lenders. The existing package expires at
the end of February.
"Of course very intense contacts are ongoing between the
(Commission) President, (Greek) Prime Minister Tsipras and all
other players involved in the euro zone.... But up to this point
all these contacts have not been very fruitful," the Commission
spokeswoman said.
(Reporting by Alastair Macdonald and Philip Blenkinsop; editing
by Barbara Lewis and Anna Willard)
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