Merkel: Greece deal will not be 'at any price'

"There will be no agreement at any price," Merkel told reporters in Brussels as she joined leaders from the 19-country eurozone.

 

Merkel pointed to the question of trust in the hard-left government in Athens, which she called "the most important currency", and warned of "tough negotiations" ahead.

 

The chancellor said the eurozone finance ministers' meeting ahead of the summit had not yet agreed on a document for formally launching negotiations for a bailout.

 

European sources said the meeting of finance ministers, known as the Eurogroup, was still continuing as leaders arrived for the summit.

 

Sources said the ministers want Greece to endorse further economic reforms in return for a third bailout estimated at more than 80 billion euros.

 

They said a draft document included a German proposal for Greece to set aside 50 billion euros in assets as a guarantee it will act on promises to pursue a business privatisation plan.

 

The draft will eventually be submitted to the eurozone leaders.

 

"The Eurogroup works on a document with brackets, and will ask the heads of state and government to fill the gaps," an EU diplomat said.

 

Brackets are used in diplomatic text to denote areas of disagreement. -AFP

 

(File Photo: Getty Images)