European Union

Germany rejected a request by Athens Thursday for a six-month extension to its EU loan programme, hitting hopes that Europe and Greece can find a solution to a bitter debt row.
      

The European Central Bank on Thursday denied a report in a German newspaper that it would feel more comfortable if Greece introduced capital controls to stem the outflow of deposits from its banks.

By Nikos Chrysoloras & Eleni Chrepa

Greece?s government submitted a request to its euro-area creditors to extend the availability of bailout funds for six months in a last-ditch effort to avert a cash crunch.

Eurozone finance ministers will hold a special meeting Friday to decide on a Greek request for a six-month loan extension.

"It is confirmed. The meeting will take place at the usual time,» 1400 GMT, a European Union spokeswoman said after Athens sent a formal letter asking for an extension.

[AFP]

Athens has sent out a request for a loan extension to the EU, the Eurogroup's head says.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch Finance Minister currently heading the Eurogroup meetings, wrote on Twitter that the EU "received Greek request" for a six-month extension.

Greece aims to conclude a deal with its eurozone partners "soon", its government spokesman said on Thursday.

"We are doing everything to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Our aim is to conclude this agreement soon," Gabriel Sakellaridis told Skai TV. "We are trying to find the common points."

By Nikos Chrysoloras & Paul Gordon

Pressure mounted on Greece as U.S. and European officials called on the government to reach a deal with its creditors and the European Central Bank granted the nation's cash-strapped banks only a small increase in emergency funds.

Conservative German newspaper, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), reported on Thursday that the European Central Bank wants Greece to introduce capital controls to stem the outflow of deposits from the country's banks. The ECB agreed to a modest increase in emergency funding for Greek banks on Wednesday.

The euro rose Thursday on hopes for a deal in Greece's debt standoff, while the dollar was under pressure after Federal Reserve policy meeting minutes suggested it was in no hurry to hike interest rates.

In Tokyo, the single currency strengthened to $1.1413 and 135.46 yen, from $1.1398 and 135.35 yen in New York.

The dollar slipped to 118.68 yen from 118.76 yen.

Excitement was buzzing at Yale University for the student-organized European Student Conference. The conference coordinators had reviewed initial policy papers and had monitored online discussions, while the organizing team had been working hard to welcome EU policymakers, prominent professors, distinguished keynote speakers and a driven body of student participants.