U.S. meets with Eurozone finance ministers to head off Greece default

September 16, 2011 – BRUSSELS – Eurozone chief Jean-Claude Juncker says the 17 countries using the European common currency have delayed until October a decision on an 8 billion-euro ($11 billion) installment of a bailout loan for Greece. The tranche is seen as needed to keep Greece from a disastrous debt default. But officials from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have delayed their assessment amid questions about whether Athens is doing enough to cut the country’s deficit. Juncker, speaking at a news conference in Wroclaw, Poland, after a meeting of eurozone finance ministers, said officials welcomed “the renewed, firm commitment of Greece” to its austerity program, but they “would decide in October on the next tranche.” The talks were also attended by U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, whose presence at the meeting in the city of Wroclaw is seen as a sign of the gravity of the eurozone’s debt crisis. In a closed address, Geithner reportedly warned that deepening divisions in the eurozone over the Greek debt posed a “catastrophic risk.” –Radio Free Europe

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