EU leaders have expressed anger at Greece's failure to negotiate a bailout deal, ruling that they will not give Athens an emergency bridging loan as it heads towards the euro exit door and bankruptcy.

Eurozone leaders and controversial Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis held a tense meeting in Riga, the Latvian capital, on 24 April. Varoufakis is said to have threatened that he was prepared to defy Europe over austerity measures and quit the eurozone - a move called "Grexit".

~ snip ~

The EU is demanding that Greece raise Value Added Tax (VAT), cut pensions, reform labour markets, privatise state companies before it will loan the money. Without the cash injection, Greece is likely to go bankrupt next month.

Greece's government, led by the left-wing Syirza Party, was elected last year on an anti-austerity and anti-EU programme. As far as the EU is concerned, it has dragged its feet on reforms.

~ snip ~