Additional Eurogroup meeting seeks last-minute Greece deal

The finance ministers of the euro zone countries gathered in Brussels on Monday again, seeking to strike a last-minute deal over the Greek debt issue.

Earlier on June 18, Eurogroup's Luxembourg meeting failed to clinch an agreement on Greece. European Council President Donald Tusk announced few minutes later an emergency eurozone summit over Greece will be held on Monday.

Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem tweeted on Saturday, saying a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on the Greek crisis was scheduled on Monday before the summit.

Monday was widely seen as a decisive day for Greece to avoid default. The crucial Eurogroup meeting may be the last opportunity for Greece and its international creditors to bridge the gaps over debt talks. And the leaders of euro zone countries are expected to hammer the deal later.

Though optimistic options of yielding a deal today mounted as Greece offered new proposals on Sunday, finance ministers declined to echo that as they stepped into the meeting room.

"We don't have substantial proposals. I can't see how we can prepare the summit," said Wolfgang Schauble, Federal Minister for Finance of Germany.

To express the dissatisfaction of the Greek proposals, Schauble said: "The IMF has likewise not received any Greek proposals."

Talks over Greek debt issue have been in deadlock for five months. The European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank (ECB) are unwilling to unlock the final 7.2 billion euros (8.2 billion U.S. dollars) tranche of bailout funds until Greece agrees to economic reforms.

On June 30, the extension of Greece's second bailout expires. Without a deal by then Athens may not cover a 1.5-billion-euro loan installment payment to the IMF due by the same day. The country will risk a default and exit from the euro zone. Endit