VIENNA (Reuters) - Austria's finance minister Hans Joerg Schelling is convinced that an agreement on bridge financing for Greece can be reached by late afternoon on Friday, he told ORF radio on Thursday.
With Greece facing an urgent deadline on July 20, when a 3.5 billion euro ($3.8 billion) payment to the European Central Bank is due, EU officials are racing to agree a bridge financing accord that would enable Athens to avoid defaulting on the loan.
"We are now convinced that a solution is to be reached by late afternoon tomorrow to set up this bridge financing," Schelling said, referring to the EU's EFSM emergency fund.
"The (European) Commission has made clear that the risk will stay with Greece and that member states do not have to take any risk, but rather that effectively liquidity is merely made available from the (EFSM) fund."
Schelling added he had heard from sources in the European Central Bank that emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) for Greek banks is likely to be extended.
The European Central Bank could be forced to delay a funding boost for Greek lenders, a key step toward their reopening, as it waits for Europe to decide on a bridge financing agreement.
The bank had been ready to increase ELA after Greece approved the bailout deal.
(Reporting By Shadia Nasralla, Angelika Gruber and Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Robin Pomeroy?Ruth Pitchford)