Eurozone doubtful Greece will make deal deadline

The eurozone is doubtful that a deal will be struck with Greece next week on economic reforms for bailout funds, potentially leaving the country perilously short of money.

Both the Greek government and its creditors have expressed the need for an agreement, at least an outline, to be reached when eurozone finance ministers meet in the Latvian capital, Riga on April 24. But Athens has yet to produce a programme of reforms that is deemed acceptable.

The German government said yesterday it was unrealistic to expect eurozone countries to be able to pay out a new tranche of aid to Greece this month.