Greece urges EU for loan extension

Athens: Greece on Thursday formally asked the EU for a six-month loan extension, hoping to avoid default and draft a new deal with its creditors. Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Twitter that he had received the request.

“Received Greek request for six months extension,” said Dijsselbloem, who is also the Dutch Finance Minister.

Athens is trying to sidestep the restrictions of its bailout, but a number of eurozone hardliners including Germany are likely to resist the move. Europe and Greece are racing to reach a deal to avoid a Greek exit from the eurozone, dubbed a ‘Grexit’, after talks in Brussels ended in acrimony. The European phase of Greece’s EU-IMF bailout expires on February 28, and Athens needs to find £11.9 billion for bond repayments to IMF and European Central Bank by August.