Greece Fails to Secure Fresh Bailout Funds

Greece has failed to secure a deal to unlock the next installment of its multi-billion-dollar bailout after talks with Eurozone finance ministers broke down.

    Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said there was still a gap "between what could be done and what some of us had expected should be done". Nonetheless, he said they were "very close" to an agreement, the (BBC) reported.

    Informal talks are expected to continue ahead of the group's 15 June meeting. The Brussels-based meeting was aimed at deciding whether Greece had done enough to receive $8.3 billion loan plus debt relief. 

    The cash is vital for Greece to avoid defaulting on a debt repayment due in July. To secure the funds, the country has had to enact a series of economic reforms. Figures released earlier this month showed that Greece had fallen back into recession for the first time since 2012. 

    The country's gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.1% in the first three months of the year after shrinking by 1.2% in the final quarter of 2016, the Eurostat figures showed.