Talks End in Greece With No Deal, but Progress Is Reported

New York Times
September 20, 2011

Inspectors from top international groups will return to Greece next week to reassess the country’s progress in meeting the requirements for it to receive financial assistance, as talks ended Tuesday without an agreement in place.

Investors had hoped that two days of talks between Greece and the so-called troika — the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission — would lead to a deal allowing the release of the latest installment of loans, which the country needs by mid-October to avoid running out of cash to pay its bills.

It now seems the question of how best to help European economies in crisis will preoccupy finance ministers of the Group of 20 nations, who are due to meet Friday in Washington. There is a sharp divide between those led by Germany, who believe that deep cuts are necessary to bring the debt crisis under control, and those who believe that it is more important to stimulate growth in sagging economies, which will make the debt easier to repay in the long run.

More