Bailout

Greece's EU and IMF lenders are leaving Athens after the first round of talks on a crucial bailout review and will return after European bank stress test results are announced, Greek officials said on Tuesday.

One day after Prime Minister Antonis Samaras met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel where he set out how Athens could exit its adjustment program and cover its financing needs from next year, leftist opposition SYRIZA attacked the conservative leader saying talks in Berlin had produced zero results.

Greece can exit its EU/IMF bailout earlier than expected and can cover its own funding needs next year, Prime Minister Antonis Samaras said in Berlin on Tuesday after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

The Expert Consultative Council on KTB has drafted a bailout plan for the bank that requires no use of public funds, a prominent Bulgarian economist and financier has said.

...

Germans are much more worried about how the lingering effects of the eurozone crisis will impact their pockets than the risk of getting involved in foreign conflicts like Ukraine, according to an annual survey of German angst released on Thursday.

As Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras tries to follow Ireland and Portugal out the bailout exit door, he faces a month of bargaining.

The Expert Consultative Council on KTB, a Bulgarian business representatives' group, has proposed a list of measures to rescue the troubled lender without burden to taxpayers.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) on Wednesday approved the disbursement of a 1-billion-euro sub-tranche of bailout loans to Greece.

By Dimitris Kontogiannis

By John O'Donnell & Renee Maltezou

Brussels is considering scrapping the troika that supervises Greek reforms to allow Athens to pursue its own plan to bolster the economy in return for a drip-feed of debt relief, European officials say.