Greece facing 'last opportunity'

Greece needs to seize a "last opportunity" to reach a deal with its creditors, the head of the Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem has said.

He was speaking after a meeting of European finance ministers that ended with no agreement on Greece's debt.

Mr Dijsselbloem called on Greece to submit "credible" proposals in the coming days.

To help tackle the crisis, an emergency summit of leaders from Eurozone nations has been called for next Monday.

Mr Dijsselbloem highlighted that "very little time remains" as Greece's current bailout programme runs out this month.

"It is still possible to find an agreement and extend the current programme before the end of the month, but the ball is clearly in the Greek court to seize that last opportunity," Mr Dijsselbloem said.

The Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, said his nation had presented a "comprehensive" proposal and that disagreement only existed over spending equivalent to 0.5% of Greek GDP, which he says does not constitute a "dangerous impasse".

He highlighted that Greece has already made a "gigantic adjustment" over the last five years and rejected any measures that would "jack-up" taxes and reduce benefits further.

And he warned that negotiations were "dangerously close to a state of mind that accepts an accident".

Read more