Eurogroup Head Dijsselbloem Calls for ‘Credible’ Greece Package

European Council President Donald Tusk earlier called a euro zone summit for 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Tuesday after Greeks voted overwhelmingly to reject the terms of a bailout.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel later warned that a deal with Greece is “not a matter of weeks any more, it’s a matter of days”. We respect the democratic choice of the Greek people.

Head of the Eurogroup and Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said today’s meeting is “going to be very difficult”, after the “no” vote at the weekend. Eurogroup ministers expect fresh reform proposals from the Greek government in talks on Tuesday, a statement said on Monday. But as Eurozone leaders make the final choice on Greece’s future, US leaders would do well to consider how a Grexit could impact US security aims in Europe. Athens is headed for a showdown with its creditors Tuesday after a resounding majority of Greeks voted against the austerity demands of global creditors Sunday, a landslide result for the leftist government.

At the heart of the issue is a contradiction in what the Greek people want and what they are willing to accept, said Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna.

“The no result unfortunately widens the gulf between Greece and other eurozone countries”, said Valdis Dombrovskis, the most senior European official in charge of the euro.

“The Eurogroup will discuss the situation following the referendum in Greece that was held on July 5”.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls says his country will do everything possible to keep Greece in the eurozone, saying its exit would be a “risk for global economic growth”.

He said on Monday in Brussels that there was urgent need for all sides to work responsibly to resolve the situation. “Hard measures” were necessary to help lift the Greek economy out of the crisis, Dijsselbloem said. In 2009 the Greek government admitted that the deficit was actually more than 15 percent when they entered the euro.