Greek officials are pulling out all the stops in an effort to borrow 15 billion euros (16.2 billion dollars) to avoid default, with recent feelers out to China and Russia, according to Greek media reports Saturday.
Athens (dpa) - Weekly newspaper Karfi cited government officials saying that the country is hoping China will provide it with a 10-billion-euro loan, in the form of a prepayment for future use of the port of Piraeus and as an advance on its investment into Greece‘s railway operator.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (L) shake hands after their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, 08 April 2015.
The country is also hoping for an additional 3 to 5 billion euros from Russia, according to the weekly Agora, also quoting officials. That would serve as an advance payment for fees linked to a planned gas pipeline dubbed Turkish Stream.
The pipeline would bring Russian gas to the Greek-Turkish border. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month about extending the pipeline onto Greek territory so the gas could then be shipped on to Central Europe.
German news website Spiegel Online reported that a deal to that effect could be signed as early as Tuesday. A senior Greek official said inking the deal could "turn the page" for Greece, which has flirted with default for years, ever since it turned out that past governments had chronically under-reported the country‘s debts.
EU"s opinion on that deal
However, questions linger, such as whether the European Union would approve the deal to bring the pipeline into Greece and whether there is a way to release money for a project that has yet to receive such approval.
Greece is desperately trying to pull together a list of credible reforms and cost-cutting proposals to present to its creditors - the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - in exchange for the release of a 7.2-billion-euro tranche of funding from its bailout package that has been held up amid worries that Greece is not making the changes necessary to stay solvent.
The future of Greece‘s economy will likely be the focus of talks between various finance ministers meeting Saturday at the IMF‘s annual spring meeting in Washington.
Weitere Tipps unserer Redaktion
How to get your dream job
There comes a time in everyone’s life when they have to address the age-old question: “What do you want to be when you grow up?
Luchse statt Staudämme
Einer der ältesten Nationalparks Europas soll frei von neuen Staudämmen bleiben. 97.804 Menschen unterzeichneten ein Protestschreiben gegen den geplanten Bau zweier großer Wasserkraftwerke im Mavrovo Nationalpark in Mazedonien, das heute dem mazedonischen Premierminister Nicola Gruevski übermittelt wurde.
Interests in Russia and Greece
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is scheduled to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Wednesday in an effort to boost economic cooperation, investment and trade relations between the two countries.
VW totally screwed up
The emissions scandal at German carmaker Volkswagen has rocked the sector since the weekend. Here is an overview of events:
Christian Social Union on stage
The European Commission on Thursday launched legal action against Germany over its introduction of road tolls amid concerns that they may discriminate against other EU citizens.
Growth is outside Europe
The boss of Ferrero, the Italian chocolate maker famous for the Nutella spread, said in a rare interview Friday that the company has ambitions to become a more global player and earn most of its income outside Europe.
Time-out from the eurozone
Eurozone leaders were inching early Monday towards a new bailout agreement with near-bankrupt Greece, although sources said it was tough going after the threat of a Greek "time-out" from the eurozone was used as leverage in the talks.
Recommended by EASA
Improved psychological testing for pilots was among six measures recommended Friday by Europe's airline regulator after the March crash of a Germanwings plane into the French Alps.
