Eurozone Faces 'Difficult' Talks Over Greece

Eurozone finance ministers have met to discuss a potential third Greek bailout deal which could prevent the country crashing out of the euro.

The talks came after Greece's parliament backed its government's latest economic reform proposals aimed at securing a rescue package worth more than €50bn (£36bn) from its international creditors.

But there is scepticism from some EU officials they may not support the plans because of a lack of trust after years of broken Greek promises and a referendum which rejected the terms offered by creditors.

The head of the Eurogroup of finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said ahead of the Brussels meeting: "There is a major issue of trust.

"Can the Greek government be trusted to do what they are promising in coming weeks, months and years?"

German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble added to the scepticism, saying: "We will have extremely difficult negotiations."

However, his French counterpart Michel Sapin said he hoped the talks would "go as far as possible to find a deal".

France has been Greece's biggest supporter in talks to avoid a "Grexit" but the German finance ministry has reportedly proposed a temporary, five-year euro exit - a claim denied by Athens.

:: Read Katie Stallard's analysis as Greece tries to avoid a "Grexit"

Some finance ministers reportedly demanded Greece goes further than the painful austerity measures already accepted by the country's prime minister Alexis Tsipras.

Greece's plans detail how the Athens government intends to tackle the country's debt and avoid a possible exit from the euro.

The package includes a set of tax rises and pension reforms very similar to those rejected by the Greek people in last week's referendum.

In return, Athens is asking for a €53.5bn (£38.5bn) bailout from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the EU organisation that provides financial assistance for eurozone members.

The proposals were backed by 251 of 300 deputies, but 10 government MPs abstained or voted against the measures and another seven were absent.

Critics have accused Mr Tsipras of "caving in" to the EU after a milder bailout package was rejected in the referendum - a package the Athens government campaigned against.

But Mr Tsipras, of the left-wing Syriza party, said they were the only way for Greece to unlock the funds needed to avoid financial collapse.

He said he had a "strong mandate to complete the negotiations to reach an economically viable and socially fair agreement".

"The priority now is to have a positive outcome," he added.

The creditors - European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund - had given a positive assessment of the proposals late on Friday.

But several ministers said more spending cuts and reform measures were needed, and they had to be passed in parliament swiftly to show that Greece was serious.

Eurozone leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, are due to meet on Sunday, either to back the ministers' verdict or to take steps to contain the fallout from a looming Greek bankruptcy.

Ms Merkel has made it clear she does not want to see a "Grexit" but faces strong opposition from her own conservatives.

Greece has had two bailouts worth €240bn (£172.5bn) from the eurozone and the IMF since 2010.

However its economy has shrunk by a quarter, unemployment stands at more than 25% and one in two young people are out of work.

Greek banks will remain closed until at least next Monday and cash machine withdrawals remain limited to €60 (£42) per day.