Time running out on Greek debt talks, says top EU official

[ROME] Greece is not moving fast enough to draw up and implement structural reforms and there is limited time to prevent it running out of cash, European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Monday.

The mood between Greece's newly-elected leftist government and its eurozone partners has been tense during negotiations that will determine whether the cash-strapped country gets further, much-needed financial aid from its EU/IMF lenders.

"Talks are very complicated. Time is running out," Mr Dombrovskis told Reuters in an interview.

He said the recent sharp depreciation of the euro against the dollar reflected the different monetary policy stances of the European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve.

The euro remains "quite far" from its historic lows against the dollar, noted Mr Dombrovskis, a Latvian whose responsibilities at the Commission include overseeing the euro.

REUTERS