Greece is expected to bid for extra debt crisis aid from the EU without strings attached, ahead of a closely-watched ECB meeting on the country's emergency funds.
Athens will send a letter to Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, requesting a six-month extension on its European loan agreement while sidestepping the duties of a full-blown bailout, Greek public television said on Wednesday.
"We should extend the credit program by a few months to have enough stability so that we can negotiate a new agreement between Greece and Europe," Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told Germany's ZDF.
The request was set to come as the European Central Bank reviews a lifeline for Greek banks known as emergency liquidity assistance, which is governed by strict criteria and cannot be used to finance the Greek state.
Europe and Greece are racing to reach a deal to avoid a Greek exit from the eurozone, after talks in Brussels ended in acrimony on Monday with both sides digging into their positions.
Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras on Tuesday said Greece had been ready to sign up to a deal drafted by EU economics commissioner Pierre Moscovici, which hinged on a loan to buy extra time for deeper negotiations - but it had been thrown out by the Eurogroup.
The offer of a six-month, strings-free agreement appears to be a bid to resurrect that deal.
The news was welcomed in Greece, where the Kathimerini daily said talks were "intensifying, with a window for a deal", while financial newspaper Naftemporiki said Athens and its creditors were "a step closer" to a solution.
But German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said earlier that Athens wanted something for nothing.
"They settle for saying 'we need more money now and we won't do anything anymore'," he said, adding that it was insulting to countries such as Ireland and Portugal that completed painful bailout programs.
At the end of Monday's fruitless meeting, Dijsselbloem - who is also the Dutch finance minister - said Greece had until Friday to request an extension to the bailout.
Tsipras's radical left government has bitterly rejected any suggestion of prolonging a bailout program which it says comes with fiscal obligations that have crippled the Greek economy.
But with the European portion of the 240 billion-euro ($A350.24 billion) bailout expiring at the end of February, Greece's creditors insist it needs extra financing to stave off the risk of a default and exit from the euro.
Tsipras has fanned the debt crisis flames by announcing parliament will vote on a series of social reform bills which flout the bailout obligations on Friday, when the deadline falls.
Measures on the table include scrapping labour market deregulation, reversing a reform called for by Greece's creditors.
His refusal to play ball has raised concerns the ECB could limit or even cut off ELA access, after it closed a key channel earlier this month by refusing to accept Greek sovereign bonds as collateral for loans.
The ECB increased the volume of emergency liquidity available to Greek banks last week to 65 billion euros according to reports, and could refuse to increase it any further creating difficulties for the banking sector.
Share
