The Greek Ministry of Finance has denied reports that the country must close a 20 billion euro ($26 billion) budget shortfall in order to meet requirements from international lenders. German magazine Der Spiegel reported the shortfall -- almost double previous estimates -- over the weekend.
A ministry representative said that Greece is negotiating a 11.5-billion-euro cut in expenditures with the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund -- the so-called Troika of international lenders.
