EU's Juncker says Greek deal progress too slow, will make proposals

[BRUSSELS] European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday as he met the Greek prime minister in Brussels that progress on a deal between Athens and its creditors had been insufficient and said he would make "proposals" to overcome the differences.

Noting that any deal depended on other eurozone governments, Mr Juncker said: "I'm not satisfied with the developments in recent weeks. I don't think we have made sufficient progress."

Addressing reporters with premier Alexis Tsipras, who said he was "optimistic", Mr Juncker added: "I'm totally excluding a failure. I don't want a failure. I would like Europeans to go together. This is not a time for division. This is the time for coming together."

With increasing talk among other eurozone states that Greece, under Mr Tsipras' radical left government, could have to quit the currency bloc, the prime minister stressed he wanted a common solution.

Mr Juncker, the EU's chief executive, said Mr Tsipras was "on a pro-European track".

REUTERS