Hope of a Greek deal could face political hurdle in Athens

Hopes that Greece and its creditors can seal a debt deal with exactly one week left to avert default could fade as the Greek premier faces pressure to convince his anti-austerity party to approve concessions needed to unblock bailout funds.
"We are very near (an agreement), the next 48 hours will be decisive," said Greek government spokesman Gabriel Sakellaridis, after yesterday's emergency eurozone summit ended with an optimistic assessment of Athens' latest proposals to its European Union and International Monetary Fund creditors.
"I am convinced that we will reach an agreement," EU commissioner for economic affairs Pierre Moscovici told French radio today after Greece submitted an 11th-hour reform plan to free up crucial funds from its international bailout.

Moscovici warned however that "work remained to be done" on the issues of value-added tax and pension reform -- key sticking points for the radical left government in Athens.
And the Greek government also issued a word of caution Tuesday, pointing out that any accord would have to be approved by a majority in parliament before June 30.
"If the agreement is not approved by the deputies of the governmental majority, the government cannot remain in place," Sakellaridis said.

Getting approval could prove a tough battle for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who was elected on an anti-austerity platform, and may risk members of his hard-left Syriza party viewing him as backsliding on campaign promises.

Time is running short as the leaders of the 19 eurozone countries have ordered their finance ministers to hold fresh talks tomorrow to thrash out the details of an agreement, ahead of a full meeting of all 28 EU member states on Thursday.
Greece is up against a deadline of June 30 to repay the IMF around 1.5 billion euros (USD 1.7 billion).
Meanwhile growing fears of a bank run in Greece amid a huge outflow in deposits again prompted the European Central Bank on Tuesday to inject more emergency funding to cover withdrawals.
Still, optimism over a deal was again driving European stocks higher today after a huge rally the day before that saw record finishes on Wall Street. Most Asian markets likewise climbed Tuesday on the apparent progress in Greek debt talks.