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Greece under fire from creditors as bailout talks drag

By The Associated Press

RIGA, Latvia (AP) — European creditors have been turning up the heat on Greece today. They’re pressing Greek officials to deliver an economic reform program that the country will need in order to avoid a possible default — and even an exit from the euro currency group.

At a meeting today in Latvia, Greece’s finance minister heard a series of rebukes from his counterparts in the eurozone for failing to come up with a comprehensive list of economic reforms.

The eurozone’s top official calls it a “very critical discussion.”

Others spoke of being “tired” and “annoyed” with the way the talks were going. Austria’s finance minister says they made those points “very vigorously.”

Two months ago, Greece won an agreement from the eurozone under which it would get the remaining money in its bailout fund — about $7.7 billion — but only if it came up with a set of reforms that everyone could agree on.

There are just days to go before that deadline, and Athens has yet to present a full list.

European officials are now talking of a new deadline at the end of June. That’s when the European part of Greece’s bailout program officially ends.

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176-a-16-(Jeroen Dijsselbloem (yuh-ROON’ DYS’-ehl-bloom), Dutch finance minister and Eurogroup president, at news conference)-“far from that”-Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem says Greece’s finance minister heard criticism from his peers in the 19-country eurozone for failing to come up with a list of economic reforms. (24 Apr 2015)

<<CUT *176 (04/24/15)££ 00:16 "far from that"

177-a-13-(Jeroen Dijsselbloem (yuh-ROON’ DYS’-ehl-bloom), Dutch finance minister and Eurogroup president, at news conference)-“significantly more progress”-Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem says there is concern among the finance ministers of countries using the Euro about the new Greek government’s lack of progress toward economic reform. (24 Apr 2015)

<<CUT *177 (04/24/15)££ 00:13 "significantly more progress"

APPHOTO MOSB137: Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, center, prepares to be photographed with other participants at the Informal Meeting of Ministers for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Union in Riga, Latvia on Friday, April 24, 2015. Greece’s finance minister came under fire Friday from his peers in the 19-country eurozone for failing to come up with a comprehensive list of economic reforms that are needed if the country is to get vital loans to avoid going bankrupt. (Dmitris Sulzics/F64 Photo Agency via AP) (24 Apr 2015)

<<APPHOTO MOSB137 (04/24/15)££

Covering the Bases: Nats and the rain

By Jonathan Warner
WASHINGTON -- It's rather ironic that the Nationals' longest night in Atlanta this weekend ended up being their best of the series. However, I don't know if Braves fans will say the same thing. They had to wait out a 3-hour, 41-minute rain delay late Saturday. The game didn't start until 10:50 p.m., and because it went 11 innings, didn't end till 2:29 a.m. Major League Baseball can't control the length of games, but it can certainly limit the time fans must endure before play begins. Anything beyond two hours is a disgrace. It shows no respect for the paying customer. If fans finally lose patience, head home and then play begins, not only do they miss the game, but there will be no refund either. All clubs do it. I've sat through many long rain delays in different cities. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. However, while I'll return for more games, you have to think some fans may not ever be back. - Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg were supposed to make the Nationals World Series contenders. So, it's rather ironic that they're in first place with both having rather unimpressive years. In addition, the Face of the Franchise, Ryan Zimmerman, has been sidelined most of the season. So how are they doing it? Pitching and defense. Washington had only one All-Star and now Jayson Werth is dealing with nagging injuries. The Nationals' MVPs have been Anthony Rendon, Ian Desmond, Denard Span, Tanner Roark and Doug Fister. So far, though, it hasn't been good enough to beat the Braves, at least head-to-head. Maybe in the end it won't matter. - Watching the Nats-Braves game Sunday night once again highlighted an annoying factor of ESPN. The freakin' news crawl. STOP IT. PLEASE. I don't need to be reminded every two minutes that Tony Stewart has released a statement or watch repeated Arena Football League scores. Who even knew the league still existed? - One final thing. The PGA Championship hands out a true award. The Wanamaker Trophy is a size befitting a major championship. Not quite as big as the Stanley Cup, but impressive nonetheless at 28-inches high and 27-inches in diameter from handle to handle. It weighs 27 pounds. The World Cup, meanwhile, needs to up its game. A World Championship deserves a world class trophy. 14.5 inches tall just doesn't cut it. Follow @WTOP and @WTOPSports on Twitter and WTOP on Facebook. .
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