Creditors have reportedly rejected Greek bailout proposals

Alexis Tsipras is fighting to keep his job, and to keep Greece in Europe

(Image credit: Milos Bicanski/Getty Images)

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is meeting with his country's three main creditors on Thursday — the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank — and he is complaining that "certain" creditors have rejected some of his government's proposals to receive a new round of financing, a Greek official tells Reuters.

The creditors want Greece to lower its proposed corporate tax hike, raise its proposed value-added tax (VAT) on consumer goods, and make larger, faster cuts to its pension system, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing a copy of Greece's proposal annotated by the creditors. European officials want the disagreements ironed out before a eurozone finance ministers meeting on Thursday.

"The non-acceptance of offsetting measures has never happened before. Neither in Ireland nor in Portugal. Nowhere!" the Greek official said, purportedly quoting Tsipras. "This strange attitude can only mean one of two things: Either they do not want an agreement or they are serving specific interests in Greece." The creditors aren't Tsipras' only obstacle, either: His bailout proposals are deeply unpopular in his own Syriza party, too.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.