Debt crisis: EU summit on Greece cancelled

A summit of all European Union members planned for Sunday has been cancelled as “very difficult” talks over a third bailout deal for Greece continue.

Eurozone finance ministers adjourned the talks last night and they have now resumed.

European Council president Donald Tusk said a meeting of Eurogroup leaders would go ahead at 14:00GMT and “last until we conclude talks on Greece”.

Without a deal, it is feared Greece could crash out of the euro.

The BBC’s Jonny Dymond in Brussels says that rarely have EU meetings been cancelled at such short notice and with such a terse announcement.

Marathon talks on Saturday had ended without agreement and Eurogroup leader Jeroen Dijsselbloem described negotiations as “very difficult”.

“We have had an in-depth discussion of the Greek proposals, the issue of credibility and trust was discussed and also of course financial issues involved, but we haven’t concluded our discussions,” Dijsselbloem, who heads the Eurogroup of finance ministers, told reporters.

“It is still very difficult but work is in progress.”

Talks resumed at 09:00 GMT.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said it was “utterly unlikely” a mandate would be achieved in Sunday’s meeting to start formal negotiations on the third bailout.

Slovakian Finance Minister Peter Kazimir was similarly downbeat, saying: “It’s not possible to reach a deal today. We can agree on certain recommendations for the heads of state. That’s all. The breach of trust… it’s so big, it’s not possible to achieve the deal.”

Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb said he was “still hopeful” of a deal but that on a scale of one to 10, Greece and its eurozone partners were “somewhere between three and four” on achieving a deal.