Still a lot do on Greece

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Tuesday that there is "still a lot of work to do" if Greece and its creditors are to reach an agreement to avert a possible default.

"The foundations of an agreement are there, but there is still a lot of work to do," Valls said after meeting with European Central Bank president Mario Draghi and other members of the executive board at the ECB's headquarters in Frankfurt.

"It's now up to the Greek authorities, to the Greek government to integrate elements of last night's discussions and to convince everyone of their commitment to go along the path of reforms," Valls said.

Hopes were high Tuesday that Greece and its creditors can seal a debt deal, with exactly one week left to avert default. An emergency eurozone summit in Brussels on Monday ended with an optimistic assessment of Athens' latest proposals to its European Union and International Monetary Fund creditors.

"There is still work to be done and steps to be taken," Valls continued.

"We must have confidence, but work must be done to bring together all the points of view."

The French premier said he had discussed Greece with ECB chief Draghi, as well as "the conditions of the current economic upturn in Europe and the eurozone, and also the situation in France."

He added that he gave a "long" presentation to the ECB executive board on the "economic situation in France and on the reforms we have to undertake".
Source: AFP