Eurozone doubts acceptance of new Greek proposal

Brussels - Eurozone officials said a letter sent to creditors by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Tuesday contained conditions for Athens' acceptance of a loan offer that at least some governments would find hard to accept.

The letter, seen by Reuters on Wednesday, said Greece would accept terms published by the European Commission on Sunday but with a number of amendments, including maintaining a reduction on value-added tax for Greek islands and maintaining a pension supplement for the richest beneficiaries for the time being.

"There are still a lot of loose ends," one eurozone official said. "The letter mentions, for example, reform of the labour market from autumn. It's just one sentence, not more.

"I don't think the Eurogroup still believes those promises just like that. By the way, they're asking for the extension of a programme which has already expired."

The letter seeks an extension of the bailout which expired overnight. The Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers will hold a conference call at 15:30 GMT on Wednesday to discuss the Greek issue.