European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker broke off high-level bailout talks with Greek officials on Sunday, after weekend negotiations failed to deliver progress on "significant gaps" in reform plans for the cash-strapped country, according to dpa. For months, Greece has been negotiating with its creditors - the commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) - on reforms needed to access 7.2 billion euros (8.2 billion dollars) in bailout aid. Time is running out, with the European part of Greece's bailout due to expire at the end of June. If an agreement is not reached in time, Athens might lose the remaining funds altogether. Greek government Nikos Pappas met at the weekend with Juncker's personal representative, as well as members of the ECB and the IMF, in what the commission described as a last attempt to broker a deal before markets open on Monday. "While some progress was made, the talks did not succeed as there remains a significant gap between the plans of the Greek authorities and the joint requirements of Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund," a commission spokesperson said. The gap between measures proposed by Greece and the demands of its creditors amounts to around 0.5-1 per cent of gross domestic product, or up to 2 billion euros (2.3 billion dollars) annually in permanent fiscal measures, the spokesperson said in a statement, adding that Athens' proposals remain "incomplete." "President Juncker remains convinced that with stronger reform efforts on the Greek side and political will on all sides, a solution can still be found before the end of the month," the statement said. Further talks are to take place at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Thursday. In Athens meanwhile, Tsipras' leftist government remained steadfast. "The government reiterates, in no uncertain terms, that no reduction in pensions and wages or increases, through value-added-tax, in essential goods - such as electricity - will be accepted," a source said on condition of anonymity. "No recessionary measure that undermines growth - the experiment has lasted long enough," the source said, adding that pension cuts demanded by the IMF would "affect the lower and working classes and ... demonstrably lead to a new recession cycle." Before the weekend, eurozone officials began discussing emergency scenarios for Greece, according to sources. The country faces 1.6 billion euros in IMF repayments this month, heightening fears that government coffers could soon run dry. Some analysts fear that a bankruptcy could push Greece out of the eurozone, destabilizing the fragile currency bloc. On Friday, the eurozone working group of state secretaries for finance discussed options including capital controls at closed-doors talks in Bratislava, 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.
