In a final push to resolve the Greek crisis, all 28 EU leaders will meet on Sunday to consider a third bailout programme for Athens after prime minister Alexis Tsipras pledged to submit detailed proposals on a new bailout package tomorrow.
A series of high-level meetings in Brussels on Tuesday had threatened to end without agreement, after the Greek finance minister and prime minister failed to table fresh proposals as promised. But in a late-night meeting in Brussels, EU leaders agreed to meet this weekend in a bid to make a deal.
In a press conference after the meeting, European Council president Donald Tusk warned that there are only days to avoid the worst-case scenario and save Greece from bankruptcy.
“The stark reality is that we only have five days to find the ultimate agreement,” he said. “Until now I have avoided talking about deadlines, but tonight I have to say it loud and clear – the final deadline ends this week. All of us are responsible for the crisis, and all of us have a responsibility to resolve it.”
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker warned that though he would prefer to keep Greece in the euro zone, “we have prepared a Grexit scenario in detail”.
Terrorists claim
Mr Juncker demanded to know how Greek officials dared to call the European Commission terrorists. Greece didn’t manage to supply a detailed reform plan yet, but they needed to do it fast, he said.
Speaking after Tuesday night’s emergency euro zone summit, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said he was hopeful the strategy now in place would bring the talks to a successful conclusion.
“Everybody around the table wants this resolved quickly,” he said. “Time is of the essence, the situation is more complex now, and difficult now than it was before the referendum.”
But with cash-starved Greek banks due to reopen on Thursday, the European Central Bank must now decide whether to maintain its lifeline to the country’s banking system.
Mr Tsipras promised a “fast” process, concluding by the end of the week at the latest. “The Greek side will continue the effort, having the strong weapon of the Greek people’s verdict.”
On the question of debt relief for Greece, euro zone sources said that Mr Tsipras had withdrawn his demand for a writedown of Greek debt, but had opened the door to discussing an increase in loan maturities as a way of tackling Greece’s debt sustainability.
German response
German chancellor Angela Merkel said that, while talks on debt relief were possible, these would only take place at the end of negotiations and on condition that Greece fulfils its new programme.
“At the end we will certainly come to [talk of] debt sustainability,” she said. “But many said this evening, including myself, that a [debt] haircut is out of the question.”
In addition to filing an acceptable bailout application, the German leader said it was up to Greece to explain how it would meet widening gaps in its budget. This could not come from interim EU financing, she said, but from “structural measures” in Greece.