Bailout deal not likely till January, EU official says

Government officials are gearing up for a long-awaited summit of eurozone finance ministers on Monday where the prospects for Greek debt relief are expected to be discussed, but a European official has told Kathimerini that it is more likely a concrete solution will be hashed out in January.

According to the official, Athens can expect an initial discussion of debt relief prospects on Monday with European Stability Mechanism chief Klaus Regling likely to present finance ministers with the proposals for short-term debt relief that are being considered by the ESM and Greece's Public Debt Management Agency.

Sources indicate that all countries have backed the proposed measures, even nations such as Spain, Portugal and Ireland, which had in the past expressed reservations about how much they would be affected, but also Germany, which, as Europe's austerity champion, has been...