Eurozone

The Greek delegation is optimistic prior to the Eurogroup. According to sources, an informal negotiation team between IMF’s Christine Lagarde, the EC’s Pier Moscovici and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem was formed to act as mediators between FinMins Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Schaeuble.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated that "improvements" were needed to the substance of a proposal submitted by Greece for an extension to its loan agreement a few hours before a crucial meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels.

French President Francois Hollande on Friday sent a “message” both to Greece and the Eurozone, following his meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Paris.

Greece and the euro zone are close to a deal on a financing-for-reforms package, a senior Greek official said ahead of a crucial meeting of euro zone finance ministers later on Friday.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Greece had made a lot of concessions to reach an agreement and that the euro zone should show some flexibility too.

A crucial Eurogroup session will begin with a 90-minute delay due to a previously unscheduled meeting of Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Yanis Varoufakis, Christine Lagarde and Wolfgang Schaeuble. Therefore, the regular Eurogroup itself will start at 15:30 GMT.

The delay was announced by Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem through his Twitter account.

European Parliament President Martin Schultz met with Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann in Vienna, where the former reiterated that, as a matter of respect, the new Greek government should be given a chance.

He also said the German FinMin’s quick reaction to the proposal was “surprising”. Schulz reiterated that Yanis Varoufakis’ proposal to the EU partners does not lack substance.

By David Goodman

As Greece heads toward 11th-hour funding talks with its euro-area membership on the line, bondholders are surprisingly sanguine about its failure so far to secure a deal.

Finance Minister of the Britain, George Osborne sees the debt crisis in Greece leading to a generalized problem for the Eurozone. The Minister’s statements come just a few hours prior to the crucial Eurogroup meeting. He also reiterated that the Eurozone needs to find a commonly acceptable solution, while the UK should continue its monetary policy which has “kept it safe”.

EZ ministers meet at the Eurozone shortly after 4 p.m. on Friday to discuss Greece's future. Germany's rejection of the Greek offer for a 6-month extension to the bailout deal and the current negotiations have brought talk of a Grexit to the fore. Twitter uses with a sense of humor and a knack for graphic arts gave their own suggestions to what a new drachma currency should look like.

By Mark Whitehouse