Bailout talks delayed as Greece fails to meet conditions

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The World

Eurogroup leader, Jean-Claude Juncker, has canceled a Wednesday meeting on Greece's bailout as the Greek government has not fulfilled all necessary conditions set out by EU finance ministers.

According to the BBC, Greece has failed to save 325 million euros ($425 million) in its current budget. The imperiled country has also not provided written pledges to the Eurogroup stating its commitment to implementing new austerity reforms agreed upon Monday before April elections.

In a written statement, Juncker said: "It has appeared that further technical work between Greece and the troika is needed in a number of areas, including the closure of the fiscal gap of 325 million euros in 2012 and the debt sustainability analysis."

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"I did not yet receive the required political assurances from the leaders of the Greek coalition parties on the implementation of the programme," he went on to say.

According to the Associated Press, on Tuesday, it appeared that the Greek government had still not yet agreed on how to trim its current budget deficit - a necessary step to receive the next installment of the EU bailout package meant to stave off a Greek debt default.

Social unrest is growing in Greece as austerity measures have significantly reduced wages and pensions for Greek workers while the government has eliminated thousands of public sector jobs.

As austerity measures were being debated in Parliament on Monday, tens of thousands took to the streets of Athens in protests that turned violent.

While EU leaders have acknowledged the social instability sweeping Greece, they insist that the tough austerity measures are necessary to prevent a bankruptcy and possible expulsion from the eurozone.

"It is really in the interest of everyone in Greece and Europe now to make this work and avoid a disorderly default of Greece, which would have devastating consequences," said Olli Rehn, the European Union's economic and monetary affairs commissioner, as quoted in Businessweek.

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