希臘與歐盟繼續討論救助計劃大綱

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has begun Thursday's round of critical talks with Greece's creditors in Brussels, in hopes of achieving a bailout deal to save Athens from default next week.

Wednesday's round of meetings with eurozone ministers ended early on Thursday morning with no deal in place.

Greece must make a nearly $2 billion loan payment to the International Monetary Fund by next Tuesday. To do that, it needs an $8 billion installment of an EU economic bailout.

Although Greece has agreed to reform its pension system and raise certain sales taxes, it is still demanding its debt be restructured by the EU.

Mr. Tsipras' leftist government has said Greeks have suffered enough from spending cuts and tax increases that have lowered their standard of living.

A default could force Greece out of the eurozone and shake up European markets.希臘總理齊普拉斯星期四在布魯塞爾與希臘債權人開始一輪重要會談，希望達成一項救助協議，使希臘避免下星期債務違約。

星期三希臘與歐元區各國部長的會談一直持續到星期四早上，但仍沒達成任何協議。

希臘下星期二之前必須償還國際貨幣基金組織近20億美元的貸款。爲此，希臘需要獲得歐盟經濟救助計劃中80億美元撥款。

希臘同意改革養老金制度，提高某些銷售稅，但仍堅持要求歐盟對希臘債務進行重組。

齊普拉斯總理的左翼政府說，削減開支和增稅降低了希臘人的生活標準，讓希臘人吃盡了苦頭。

債務違約會迫使希臘退出歐元區，給歐盟市場帶來震動。