The institutions' insistence on further pension cuts is a political expediency, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said in statements to Efimerida ton Syntakton newspaper.
Last ditch talks between Greece and the institutions representing its creditors did not succeed in a deal on Sunday, leaving the final decision on whether the country is going to default to eurozone finance ministers, the European Commission said on Sunday.
A housing benefit ranging between 70 and 220 euros a month will start to be handed out from Friday, initially going to just 1073 individuals throughout the country, Alternate Labour and Social Insurance Minister Theano Fotiou informed Parliament on Thursday.