Leaders fail to strike deal on troika austerity proposals; say they are close

(9 Feb 2012) AP TELEVISION 1. Pan of car arriving at Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos' office 2. Mid of unidentified official walking into office POOL 3. SOUNDBITE: (Greek) Antonis Samaras, Leader of conservative New Democracy party: "The negotiation is still going on, this is what I did, this is what I will do (negotiate). There is still one issue (to reach an agreement) that has to do with pensions. At these difficult times we must look after the simple people, the simple pensioner. I have no right not to do this, I have no right not to negotiate hard." ++NIGHT SHOTS++ AP TELEVISION 4. Wide of entrance to Papademos' office POOL 5. SOUNDBITE: (Greek), Antonis Samaras, Leader of conservative New Democracy party: "We are trying so that the people will be hurt as less as possible, but things are difficult." AP TELEVISION 6. Mid of Giorgos Karatzaferis, LAOS party leader, leaving building followed by aides 7. SOUNDBITE: (Greek) Giorgos Karatzaferis, Leader of right-wing populist LAOS party: "He who denies cannot regret. If he were asked a second time he would say 'no' again. However, this 'no' which is the right (thing to do) will haunt for him his whole life." (quoting from a poem by Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy) 8. Wide exterior of Prime Minister's office 9. Pan of troika delegation arriving in car 10. Cutaway of media 11. Mid of vehicles arriving 12. Mid of troika members walking into Prime Minister's office 13. Mid of official standing outside entrance STORYLINE: Crucial talks to discuss austerity cuts in Greece broke down after eight hours on Wednesday, as leaders of the three parties backing the country's coalition government failed to agree to demands from international creditors for substantial cuts to state and private pensions. Prime Minister Lucas Papademos left the meeting to negotiate with the 'troika' of Greece's creditors - the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - on the cuts needed for Greece to reach the fiscal targets prescribed by the troika for 2012. He is joined in the negotiation by Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos and Labour Minister Giorgos Koutroumanis. A statement issued from Papademos' office said that the Prime Minister and the three leaders - socialist George Papandreou, conservative Antonis Samaras and right-wing populist Giorgos Karatzaferis - "agreed on all points (presented by the creditors) except one which calls for further discussion and elaboration with the troika." At stake is a 130 (b) billion euro bailout that is vital if Greece is to avoid bankruptcy as early as late March. The leaders' talks hit a snag over a 300 (m) million euro (398.22 (m) million US dollar) gap in cuts needed to reach the 2012 fiscal target. The troika has proposed cuts in supplementary state and private pensions above a threshold level of 150 euros (198 US dollars) a month. Private pensions in Greece are state-guaranteed. "There is still one issue (to reach an agreement) that has to do with pensions," said Antonis Samaras, Leader of conservative New Democracy party. "We are trying so that the people will be hurt as less as possible, but things are difficult," he added. Leader of right-wing populist LAOS party Giorgos Karatzaferis quoted a poem by Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy. He implied that he does not agree to the obligations that Greek authorities are required to undertake in return for the bailout. Greece needs the bailout deal to avoid a March default and is being pushed to wrap up negotiations in Athens before a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels scheduled for 1700GMT. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/338d9c72f85f0f111e8f4c5a7edf50c5 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork