Greece rejects '˜absurd'™ EU bailout deal

Greece on Monday rejected an opening European Union bailout offer as "absurd" and "unacceptable," with a Greek government source saying that "in these circumstances there cannot be a deal today."

Athens had been told, ahead of bailout talks Monday with eurozone finance ministers in Brussels — to respect the existing conditions of the bailout, the source told Agence France-Presse.

European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told reporters after the talks broke up — after less than four hours — that eurozone partners were willing to resume the talks with Greece if and when it changes its position.

"It was clearly decided that if and once this request for an extension of the bailout is there, if there are certain commitments from the Greek authorities to stick to the program, then the chairman of the Eurogroup will announce the next Eurogroup," Dombrovskis said.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said before the talks that Greece had lived beyond its means for a long time, and that there was no appetite in Europe for giving it any more money without guarantees it was getting its finances in order.

Failure to reach a deal would raise fears that Greece could be forced out of the eurozone. The European Central Bank (ECB) is due to review on Wednesday how much longer it is prepared to allow the Greek central bank to continue providing emergency funds to keep Greek banks afloat.

As the meeting in Brussels broke up, a senior Greek banker said his country’s stance boded ill for the markets and the banks.

“It is a very negative development for the economy and the banks. The outflows will continue. We are losing 400-500 million [euros] every day and that means about 2 billion every week. We will have pressure on stocks and bond yields tomorrow.”

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis had spelled out in a combative New York Times article his country's refusal to be treated as a "debt colony" subjected to "the greatest austerity for the most depressed economy.”

"Our government is not asking our partners for a way out of repaying our debts,” Varoufakis wrote in the article, published Monday, “We are asking for a few months of financial stability that will allow us to embark upon the task of reforms that the broad Greek population can own and support, so we can bring back growth and end our inability to pay our dues."

An opinion poll showed 68 percent of Greeks want a "fair" compromise with eurozone partners, while 30 percent said the government should stand tough even if it means reverting to the drachma currency. The poll found 81 percent want to stay in the euro.

Between 15,000 and 18,000 protesters marched in Athens ahead of Monday’s talks in Belgium, carrying banners denouncing economic austerity and Greece's creditors. Dozens of other anti-austerity marches were held in solidarity with Greece on Sunday evening.

The European Central Bank will review its policy on Wednesday in the light of the Brussels talks, but an ECB source said it was unlikely to pull the plug on Greek banks as long as terms of a future program were still under discussion.

Wire services