Greece to make aid request soon, says Dutch minister

Brussels

GREECE will put its economic proposals in writing, in a first step towards restarting aid talks after the country's voters rejected austerity, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Tuesday.

Mr Dijsselbloem said his new Greek counterpart Euclid Tsakalotos had presented "no concrete measures today" despite demands for a reform plan, but added that a request to the EU's bailout fund was "imminent, possibly within the next few hours".

Euro-area finance chiefs will hold a conference call on Wednesday morning to discuss the request, Mr Dijsselbloem added. Agreement on the path forward lessens the risk that the European Central Bank (ECB) will pull the plug on Greek banks, which are bleeding ca…