EU, IMF insist no Greek creditor deal yet

ATHENS: Greece's finance minister announced he had agreed a new austerity deal with international creditors, but the EU and IMF insisted that while there had been progress, no deal had yet been thrashed out.

Yannis Stournaras told parliament Wednesday the so-called troika had granted a long-sought extension in return for a 13.5 billion euro ($17.5 billion) austerity package needed to unlock funds vital to keep the country afloat.

But officials at both the European Union were quick to make it clear that the troika had not yet reached any agreement with Athens.

"Substantial progress has been made in talks with Greece but a few outstanding issues remain before a staff-level agreement can be reached," a spokesman for European economic affairs commissioner Olli Rehn said in a tweet.

The International Monetary Fund issued a similar message soon after.

"There has been progress in recent days, but some outstanding issues remain to be agreed upon to reach full staff-level agreement," a spokesman said.

"Furthermore, financing issues will be discussed between the official lenders and Greece."

European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi also said that while there had been progress "the review is not finished yet".

The EU has been negotiating alongside the ECB and the IMF on a new round of spending cuts and reforms by Greece to unlock a 31.2 billion euro ($40 billion) instalment from its rescue loans.

A finance ministry source had said earlier that the government hoped to present the deal to a Eurogroup meeting on Thursday, ending talks that have dragged on since July.

But Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of key paymaster Germany said: "As far as the German government knows there are no new findings.

"When the proposals (from the troika) are on the table, the Eurogroup will look at them. There is nothing more to add."

Earlier Stournaras had said that he had finalised the agreement on cutbacks in talks with the troika's auditors.

"We have obtained the extension," he told parliament, announcing that two draft laws related to the package would be presented to parliament next week.

The new measures, to be voted on by November 12, still have to be approved by Greece's three-party coalition government, with key allies remaining split over the painful reforms.

According to the draft budget, Greece plans to cut the public deficit to 6.6 percent of output this year -- still over twice the EU limit.