LONDON (SHARECAST) - Contrary to the expectations of many observers Eurozone finance ministers were last night unable to thrash out an agreement on how to finance a two-year extension in Greece’s commitments. While some of the country’s lenders –such as Germany, the Netherlands and Finland (the other Troika)- are willing to go so far so as to even consider a temporary suspension of interest payments, they refuse to put more money on the table. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), meantime, defends some sort of debt ‘relief’ for the Mediterranean country whose national debt is set to hit 190% of its gross domestic product in 2014. “We have a series of options on the table on how to close the financing gap,� German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters. Be that as it may, in the end no clear agreement was forthcoming. “We discussed the issue very intensively, but since the questions are so complicated we didn’t come to a final agreement,� he added. Those remarks followed nearly 12 hours of talks which ended just a few hours ago. To be taken into account, German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces elections next year and Greek citizens are not the only weary (and wary ones). Nevertheless, there is an ample consensus amongst experts that the Greek government’s financial situation is dire. The reaction in currency markets was immediate, with the single currency falling by 0.53% in its main cross – versus the US dollar – to 1.2747. Following all of the above, and in remarks to broadcaster Europe 1 Radio, French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici stated that an agreement is very close and that it only needs the final "touches." His opposite number at the IMF, Christine, on the other hand, was of the opinion that "we are not quite there yet" although progress was made. For his part, Greece's Prime Minister complained that technical difficulties in finding a solution are not a justification in delaying aid. Finance ministers will meet again on the next 26th of this month.

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