ATHENS, Greece ? The political leaders backing Greece's coalition government have ended their meeting after seven-and-a-half hours without an agreement on the austerity proposals of the so-called "troika" of bailout creditors ? the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
It appears the most contentious point is the troika's demand for cuts in auxiliary pensions over a threshold of euro150 a month. Two of the three leaders ? conservative Antonis Samaras and right-wing populist Giorgos Karatzaferis ? have held out over this point, which, according to Karatzaferis, consumed almost the whole meeting.
Media are reporting that the third coalition leader, socialist George Papandreou, objects to cuts in main pensions. The three leaders have left Prime Minister Lucas Papademos to negotiate these points with the troika.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Greek coalition leaders were locked in crucial debt talks with the prime minister Wednesday to review layoffs and other steep cutbacks as part of a euro130 billion ($170 billion) bailout package intended to save the country from a looming bankruptcy.
The coalition met for seven hours without reaching consensus on where the cuts should fall, but eurozone finance ministers scheduled a meeting in Brussels on Thursday to discuss the second massive bailout for Greece, an indication a deal was close.
Athens has already accepted a demand to fire up to 15,000 workers in the public sector in 2012, but is under pressure to impose deeper cuts, including reductions in pension payments and the minimum wage. Leaders of three parties making up the 3-month-old Greek coalition have been under intense pressure to accept the new austerity measures.
A disorderly bankruptcy by Greece would likely lead to its exit from the eurozone, a situation that European officials have insisted is impossible because it would hurt other weak countries like Portugal, Ireland and Italy. Two years of cutbacks already have seen unemployment rise to around 19 percent and poverty to 20 percent in Greece, according to data from the EU statistics agency Eurostat.
The coalition's measures were to be announced at a meeting with Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, after the parties were handed a 50-page draft agreement, drawn up with international debt inspectors late Tuesday
It was not clear whether the parties ? the majority Socialists, main rival conservatives, and small right-wing LAOS ? would accept the austerity demands, particularly ahead of national elections provisionally set for late April.
"Austerity measures are like shoes that are too tight. Sooner or later, you want to kick them off," LAOS leader George Karatzaferis was quoted as saying by state TV.
Papademos called Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads the finance minister meetings, on Wednesday to relay Greek political parties' reservations about proposed pension cuts, a party official said on condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing.
Greece's largest labor union, GSEE, said it would meet Thursday to consider calling for new protests against the austerity measures. "They simply don't care that they are causing such damage to the country and such damage to society," said senior GSEE official Stathis Anestis.
Juncker, who is Luxembourg's premier, scheduled the eurozone ministers' meeting for 1700 GMT (noon est).
The coalition talks were repeatedly postponed this week to make time for exhaustive negotiations with representatives of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, on whose approval the continued flow of Greece's vital rescue loans depends.
Without the bailout, Greece would not have enough money to pay off a big bond redemption payment due on March. 20, triggering a default that risks sending shock waves throughout financial markets and the global economy.
As anger mounts in Greece at the prospect of further economic pain, patience is running out abroad.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said Greece must swiftly return to a sustainable, viable path.
"This is not a question one can take a lot of time to tackle," Steffen Seibert said. "It is important that the negotiations now come to an end."
Late Tuesday, Greece's private creditors signaled progress on a separate, linked agreement that would cut the country's privately held debt load by 50 percent, or some euro100 billion ($131 billion).
The intention is to ensure that Greece's long-term debts are sustainable. Banks, pension and hedge funds and other private sector holders of Greek debt are expected to swap their current bonds for new ones worth 50 percent less than the original face value, with longer repayment terms and a lower interest rate. They are also expected to get a euro30 billion payment as part of the bond swap deal.
"We face crucial decisions ... that will determine the country's course in coming years," Deputy Finance Minister Philippos Sachinidis told Parliament. "These days are among the most crucial of our post-World War II history."
The EU, ECB and IMF, known collectively as the "troika", have demanded the additional measures which they say will improve Greece's competitiveness and economic stability, as well as cuts in health, welfare and defense spending.
Labor Minister Giorgos Koutroumanis warned Parliament last week that a demanded reduction in the euro751 ($985) minimum monthly wage would quicken the Greek economy's contraction and hit the revenues of struggling pension funds that have already lost euro20 billion ($26 billion) since 2009.
But Athens has minimal ground for maneuver. Without the rescue loans, the country will default on its massive debts in March, when it faces a euro14.5 billion ($19 billion) bond redemption.
Greece has been kept solvent since May 2010 by payments from a euro110 billion ($145 billion) international rescue loan package. When it became clear the money would not be enough, a second bailout was decided last October.
Stocks advanced Wednesday, while the euro was trading near two-month highs, as global markets were hopeful a deal would be struck in Athens. Greek shares closed 0.9 percent higher.
"We are finally approaching the endgame of the Greek talks," said Gary Jenkins, managing director at Swordfish Research. "Ultimately it is difficult to see how they can do anything other than agree a deal. After all, the alternative is a disorderly default which could lead to a much deeper economic depression and potential civil unrest."
Provided political leaders accept the demanded austerity, Greek officials say a cabinet meeting will approve the deal, likely later Wednesday. Parliament will then have to vote on the agreement over the weekend.
Ratification should prove simple provided all three coalition partners back the deal, as they control a combined 252 of Parliament's 300 seats ? enough to carry the vote even if there is a limited backbencher rebellion.
Coalition parties remain at odds over when to call a general election ? initially planned for this month when the coalition was formed ? as they face an increasingly hostile public suffering from a fifth year of recession.
The Socialists say Papademos should govern for two more years, while the conservatives want elections in April.
Some 91 percent of Greeks believe the coalition government is taking the country in the "wrong direction," according to a February tracking poll published Wednesday in Greek daily Kathimerini.
Support for the Socialists, who won a landslide election victory in 2009, has dropped to 8 percent, while the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn group has attracted 3 percent support ? enough to achieve representation in parliament, according to Public Issue survey. Conservative New Democracy led with 31 percent, which is not enough to form a government on its own. Sampling data was not available.
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Demetris Nellas in Athens, Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels and Juergen Baetz and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
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