Constantine Michalos, president of the Athens Chamber of Commerce, said it is going to be "extremely difficult if not impossible" to implement the austerity measures Greece is required to as part of the terms of their bailout.

Speaking to the Today programme he said that the right approach would be "to have this time extension that would aleviate the weight of obligations for the Greeks".

He warns of that in terms of social cohesion "it is going to be an extremely difficult September coming up."

His comments come as the Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras has asked for "more breathing space".

Dr Michael Fuchs, deputy chairman of the parliamentary group of the German governing party the CDU, told the programme he does not believe there is a chance for a third bailout package and said that Greece were already given "much more time than was originally planned".

"If Greece is going to leave... I don't believe it is going to have a great impact any more," he said.

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