EU hangs tough on Greece

European Union finance ministers piled pressure on Greece on Tuesday to remain in an international financial rescue program as the euro weakened on fears of disruption when Athens` credit lines expire in 10 days time.

But as he returned to meetings on other, routine, matters with his EU counterparts in Brussels after the collapse of talks on Monday night, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis dismissed their argument that his only option is to come back to them and ask to extend a bailout rejected by Greek voters.

"The next step is the responsible step," he said, offering no detail on what Athens was willing to propose. "We will continue to deliberate, in order to enhance the chances and actually achieve a very good outcome for the average European."

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who chairs the Eurogroup of 19 countries using the common currency, stuck to his guns, however, saying Athens must seek an extension: "It`s really up to the Greeks. We cannot make them or ask them. We stand ready to work with them, also (over) the next couple of days.

"Formally, Tuesday`s meeting of ministers from all 28 EU states concerns other matters. But time is short and investors marked down the euro and European shares after Monday`s debacle, some saying the risk of Greece exiting the euro had risen.

"The Greek government must shift its position," Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling said. "Time is pressing."

Dijsselbloem has said Friday is a deadline for a deal that would give time for some national parliaments to ratify it before the expiry on Feb. 28 of the 240 billion euro credit package that rescued Greece from bankruptcy three years ago.