Senior European ministers were locked in secret discussions with Greece on Friday night that may lead to a restructuring of the embattled nation's mountain of public debt.Finance ministers from Germany, France, the Netherlands and Finland met their Greek counterpart, Giorgos Papaconstantinou, in Luxembourg as part of efforts to draw a line under the eurozone's sovereign debt crisis.
A restructuring of Greek debt, which would see the terms of the loans extended and borrowing rates reduced, is understood to have been central to the talks.
Greece was the first member of the single currency block to fall in May last year, when it accepted a €110bn (£95bn) rescue package. Ireland followed in November with €67.5bn of external help, and Portugal last month agreed in principle to an €80bn deal.
Greece has since had the rate on the emergency loan cut in return for pushing through further austerity. Ireland is also trying to negotiate more favourable terms, while Portugal claims to have secured a better deal than either of the others.
Sources said the negotiations would address all such concerns, from a restructuring of Greek debt to easier terms for Ireland and a final deal for Portugal. The future leadership of European Central Bank (ECB) was also said to be on the agenda, amid speculation that German Chancellor Angela Merkel opposes the widely-fancied Italian head of the Financial Stability Board Mario Draghi taking over from Jean-Claude Trichet in November. (read more)
