Greece must 'stop wasting time' in bailout talks: Eurogroup chief

(BRUSSELS) - Greece is "wasting time" in talks on its bailout programme and must make concrete progress, Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Monday as finance ministers met in Brussels.

Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who heads the group of his eurozone counterparts, welcomed Greece's latest reform proposals, which will be discussed Monday.

But he said serious talks need to begin on Greece's current bailout, which has been extended until June, and on a possible new financial programme to replace it when it runs out.

"We shouldn't waste so much time. The extension is only for four months and the clock is ticking," Dijsselbloem told reporters on his way into the talks.

"We seem to be losing time now since the last Eurogroup. We have lost over two weeks in which very little progress has been made, we have to stop wasting time and start talks seriously."

Pressed on whether Greece faced possible bankruptcy, he replied: "We have said we will support Greece further if they continue on the reform path, and I think that the talks about the programme and the reforms that are needed should restart very quickly -- we are losing too much time."

On Sunday Dijsselbloem said Greece's reform plans were "far from complete".

Greece's new left-wing government, which was elected in January, has vowed to renegotiate the country's debts and end harsh austerity measures imposed under two EU-IMF bailouts since 2010.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis warned at the weekend of a possible referendum if the eurozone rejects Athens's proposals.

He made no comment on his way into the Brussels talks Monday.