By Sara Sjolin
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- A representative from the Greek Ministry of Finance on Monday denied reports that the country must close a 20 billion euros ($26 billion) budget shortfall to meet requirements from international lenders, as reported in German magazine Der Spiegel over the weekend. The representative from Greece's finance ministry said that the country is only negotiating a 11.5-billion-euro cut in expenditures with the so-called Troika of international lenders, as well as finding a way to raise 2 billion euros in revenue. With the Troika -- the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund -- taking a break from budget negotiations this week, the final agreement on budget cuts is not expected until next week, the representative said.
