EU gives Greece three-day ultimatum

Greece has three days to reassure Europe and the International Monetary Fund it can deliver on conditions attached to its international bailout in order to receive the next tranche of aid, eurozone officials said.

The lenders are unhappy with progress Greece has made towards reforming its public sector, a senior eurozone official involved in the negotiations said, while another said they might suspend an inspection visit they resumed on Monday.

Athens, which has about €2.2 billion of bonds to redeem in August, needs the talks to conclude successfully. If they fail, the IMF might have to withdraw from the €240-bn bailout to avoid violating its own rules, which require a borrower to be financed a year ahead. That would heighten the risk that concerted efforts by policymakers over the past nine months to keep a lid on the eurozone crisis could unravel, at a time when tensions are rising in other countries on the region’s periphery.