German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande will try to present a united front when they meet Thursday, Aug 23 ahead of a fateful few weeks for Greece's eurozone future, AFP reports.
As leaders of the bloc's top two economies, the pair carry the weight of expectations that they will drive decisive action to remedy the near three-year crisis, despite their differences.
The timing of the evening summit in the German capital is no coincidence – Merkel will host the Greek prime minister in Berlin less than 24 hours later before he meets Hollande in Paris Saturday.
Antonis Samaras will reportedly try to persuade his European partners to extend a deadline for swingeing spending cuts to keep Greece in the 17-nation eurozone after first meeting Eurogroup chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday.
Germany, Europe's effective paymaster, has insisted Athens must stick to the timeline and reforms agreed in return for its second rescue package, while France is seen as more flexible.
Greece, scrambling to find about 11.5 billion euros ($14.2 billion) through drastic cuts and reforms in its fifth year of recession, is avidly awaiting a progress report by its international creditors, meanwhile.
The verdict, due in September, by the so-called Troika – European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank – will determine whether Athens gets the next slice of its bailout.
Without the funds – worth some 31.5 billion euros – Greece's government is expected to quickly run out of cash and face a default that many analysts believe would force it to leave the eurozone.
