Greece is expected Saturday to deliver new reform proposals to Brussels, sources said, although no new negotiations were due to take place with creditors, as the country enters a crunch time to reach a deal unlocking sorely needed bailout funds, according to dpa. "[Greek Prime Minister] Alexis Tsipras is sending a personal representative to Brussels to meet personal representatives of [European Commission] President Juncker," an EU source said on condition of anonymity. "All meetings can be useful, but this is not a negotiation," the source added. On Friday, Tsipras and Juncker spoke by telephone to review the next steps in the negotiations between Athens and its creditors, according to a Greek government official. Time is running out for Greece to reach a deal with the commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund on the reforms needed to access 7.2 billion euros (8.2 billion dollars) in funding from its international bailout. The European part of its bailout due to expire at the end of this month. If an agreement is not found before then, Athens may lose the remaining bailout aid altogether. The country faces 1.6 billion euros in IMF repayments this month, heightening fears that government coffers could soon run dry. But Greece and its creditors have struggled to reach an agreement, with key sticking points including Greece's target for its primary surplus - the excess of revenues over expenditures before interest payments are made. Both sides are thought to have agreed on a primary surplus target of 1 per cent of gross domestic product for 2015, after creditors had initially demanded a goal of 3.5 per cent. But the most recent proposals out of Athens suggest a primary surplus of 0.75 per cent, while creditors are thought to be unwilling to budge further on the issue. The focus is now shifting to a meeting of eurozone finance ministers this coming Thursday. Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem called on Friday for Greece to act. "If the Greek government is not ready to resort to difficult measures, then they will never get out of misery," he said in an interview with Dutch television, warning that the negotiations make little sense without serious proposals from Athens. Also on Friday, the eurozone working group of state secretaries for finance discussed emergency scenarios for Greece during a closed-door meeting in Bratislava, according to sources. Their discussions touched upon options including capital controls, sources said on condition of anonymity. Such controls, typically deployed to prevent mass money transfers out of a country, could only be ordered by Athens. Until now, Eurozone finance ministers have not discussed scenarios other than a financial rescue for Greece.
