By: Sara Patterson
A planned meeting in Brussels for today which was aimed at approving the Greek bailout plan was delayed again after Eurozone finance ministers claimed that Greek party chiefs failed to commit to the necessary reforms. In addition, Eurozone leaders said that Greece did not provide a solid plan for how it would fill a 325 million Euro gap in budget cuts promised for 2012. Greece desperately needs approval for this bailout plans before the month’s end, lest it face catastrophic bankruptcy when its 14.5 billion Euro debts come due in March.
Reports out of Brussels indicate that the stalled plans are a result of Antonis Samaras, the head of the New Democracy Party and the likely next Greek prime minister has not signed off on the plan. EU leaders are concerned that the proposed pension, pay and job cuts in Greece will not be implemented following the country’s April elections should Samaras fail to express his support for the plan.
In the meanwhile, data out of Greece continues to show marked deterioration, as reports on Tuesday showed that the country’s economy contracted 7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011, surpassing the dismal 5 percent contraction of the previous quarter.