London shares extended their losses on Tuesday as traders pondered the scale of the task ahead to get Greece back on track.
The FTSE 100 Index was 13.18 points adrift at 6724.77 around lunchtime while the Dax dropped 35 points and the CAC-40 fell three points.
Dealers watched nervously as Greek premier Alexis Tsipras headed back to Athens to try to persuade rebellious lawmakers in his own party to back his reforms.
There was talk that Tsipras may resign if he fails to garner enough support to push the package through parliament, although it is thought it would pass thanks to opposition backing.
Jasper Lawler at CMC Markets said: "Headlines of in-fighting or hard-line stances in Athens will be a downside risk throughout the day."
Bank of England chief Mark Carney weighed into the Greek debate by saying there were 'big execution risks' involved in the rescue deal.
Upbeat UK retail sales figures failed to lift the mood. The spectre of deflation also raised its head with UK inflation slipping back to zero in June.
Connor Campbell at Spreadex said: "None of this helped the FTSE shake its current lifelessness, something no doubt exacerbated by the drag of Brent Crude following the confirmation of an Iran nuclear deal."
Traders were set to seek inspiration from the US, with numbers from the likes of JP Morgan and Wells Fargo kicking off the second quarter earnings season.
Back in UK equities, FirstGroup (LON:FGP) chugged 1.8p lower to 117.3p as it forecast lower rail earnings following the end of UK franchise contracts.
Dairy Crest (LON:DCG) melted 1.5p to 564.5p as it said results from its cheese and spread businesses would be weighted towards the second half.
Support service group Carillion (LON:CLLN) advanced 3p to 354.7p after first-half revenue rose and it won an £80mln contract from BP.
AstraZeneca (LON:AZN) was 20p healthier at 4351p after getting US regulatory approval for a lung cancer treatment.
Elsewhere, iodine manufacturer Iofina (LON:IOF) lifted 2.75p to 24p on news of a strong first-half performance and a record second quarter for crystalline iodine production.
Summit Therapeutics (LON:SUMM), which is working on muscular dystrophy treatments, climbed 2.5p to 156.5p as it reported encouraging test data.
Regional newspaper publisher Johnston Press (LON:JPR) backtracked 28p to 114p as it reported an advertising slowdown in the run-up to the UK general election.
Regenersis tumbled 37p to 163.5p after the supplier of electronic repair, diagnostic and data removal software firm reported a loss of business from a major customer.