EU 'on track' to decide on Greek bailout next week

The European Union's economy chief said Monday the eurozone was "on track" to take a decision on a vital Greek bailout loan next week, but another official voiced doubts about an imminent deal. Eurozone finance ministers meet on November 12 to decide whether to unlock the next installment of bailout funds that Greece needs to avoid bankruptcy this month. "It is indeed important because there is, as is quite well known, there is the need to fill in the financing needs of Greece in mid-November," said EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn. "Both the eurozone and the IMF and the Greek government and parliament are now on track in order to be able to take the decision next Monday," Rehn told a news conference after a Group of 20 meeting in Mexico City. Greece has been negotiating with the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank to unlock a 31.5 billion euro tranche of a bailout package or risk bankruptcy this month. The Greek parliament will hold crucial votes this week on a new round of austerity demanded by international lenders. But eurozone nations are also torn over a Greek plea for a two-year delay to implement fiscal obligations. Several nations, including eurozone paymaster Germany, refuse to dole out more loans to Athens. "We need to have a common view on how to reduce the debt burden by the November 12 Eurogroup meeting and I am confident that we will be able to reach that common view," Rehn said. "But it still requires quite some work from everybody, including the Greek parliament, including EU and IMF representatives." Another European official said earlier that the November 12 meeting would merely be a "stage." "We don't have a gun held up to our heads to reach a formal decision on the 12th," the official said on condition of anonymity. The official said the bailout tranche will only be disbursed "when all of the conditions are met," including the parliament votes this week and guarantees that the rescue will be financed and the debt will be sustainable. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has said the coffers in Athens will run dry on November 16 -- when a three-month treasury bill worth five billion euros must be repaid -- unless his country receives the next bailout payment. The European official was more vague about the default deadline for Greece, saying Athens will run out of money "in November or December, rather in November."