Coalition leaders meeting yesterday, once again brought no final agreement on the new austerity package, with layoffs in the public sector and radical labour market reforms to be considered ‘red lines’, Greek politicians seem determined to defend.

Following a meeting with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, the leader of Democratic Left, Fotis Kouvelis, who appears against increasing the retirement age to 67 and layoffs in the civil service argued: “No measures can be imposed on a society that is disintegrating,” he said.

PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos argued that Greece’s labour market rules must be the same as in the rest of Europe. He reiterated his demand for Greece’s fiscal adjustment period to be extended by two years, Kathimerini writes. On the other hand, he appeared optimistic: “There is small progress every day,” he said. “My experience tells me that we will reach a comprehensive agreement.”

Meanwhile, talks with troika head representatives continue. Finance minister Yannis Stournaras and the troika heads met yesterday afternoon aim at drafting around EUR 9-10 billion worth of measures from the total EUR 11.9 billion package, protothema.gr writes. The government aims to overcome the objections of the auditors, however the latter seem persistent in rejecting around EUR 2-2.5 billion of measures. According to the initial plan, Stournaras is about to present the list of measures to the Eurogroup tomorrow in Nicosia.