Euro Group

Greece has paid some EUR 750 M in debt interest to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), averting the prospect of default, Reuters reported.

"The order to pay the IMF has been executed," the newswire quoted  a senior Greek finance ministry official as saying on Monday, a day before the payment was due.

Less than ninety minutes remain until the start of today’s Eurogroup, in which 19 Eurozone Finance Ministers, the ECB’s director Mario Draghi, and EC officials will discuss the Greek matter.

Everything, from the Tsipras-Juncker telephone conversation, to the Tsipras-Dragasakis talks late last night, points to a convergence of views and a possible agreement by Monday’s Eurogroup.

The approach from both sides is stable, and the talks focus on specific issues: fiscal, taxation, employment, insurance, and privatizations.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis insisted Saturday that Greece would not require a new bailout from its international creditors if they would simply restructure its debt.

Athens last week resumed talks with its creditors in a bid to unblock 7.2 billion euros ($8 billion) from its EU-IMF bailout before state coffers run dry.

Eurogroup director Jeroen Dijsselbloem stated that it is yet too early to state that negotiations are at such a  point as to change the clime towards Greece.

Mr. Dijsselbloem underlined that “the current negotiations underway show progress, and that is a positive thing”. He reiterated that his goal is to establish a “stable deal” with Greece.

By Renee Maltezou & Deepa BabingtonTsi

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Monday reshuffled his team handling talks with European and IMF lenders, after his finance minister was sharply criticized for his performance at a euro zone meeting last week.

By Ingrid Melander and Lefteris Papadimas

Euro zone finance ministers delivered a stark warning to Greece on Friday that its leftist government will get no more aid until it agrees a complete economic reform plan, as Athens lurches closer to bankruptcy.

The German mass daily Handesblatt quotes EU Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis on Tuesday as saying that an agreement between Greece and its EZ creditors at a closely watched April 24 Eurogroup meeting is "unlikely".

By Sotiris Nikas

The technical experts of the government and the creditors resumed their talks in Athens on Monday after the process was halted last Tuesday.

Some of the technocrats had even left Greece and returned to the capital yesterday. Talks are centering on the course of the 2015 state budget.

Greece embarks on a second week of technical discussions with its lenders from Monday with the aim of agreeing on a first batch of reforms but also securing a concession, possibly from the European Central Bank, that would help it overcome its pressing liquidity problems.