Greece must agree to reforms by Sunday, or leave eurozone

His comment came on the heels of an observation by Nicolas Veron, a senior fellow at the independent think tank Bruegel in Brussels that if Greece’s current source of aid is “stopped and no agreement is in sight, it is hard to imagine a scenario in which Greece stays in the eurozone for long”, according to the New York Times. We have basically lost five months.

“Our proposals for financing our obligations and restructuring our debt will not burden European taxpayers”.

‘We are determined not to have a clash with Europe but to tackle head on the establishment in our own country and to change the mindset which will take us and the eurozone down, ‘ Tsipras said in a speech to the European Parliament.

Merkel said she was “not exaggeratedly optimistic” for a solution.

In Athens, the Greek government said it had committed to seeking its third bailout since 2010, with a revised request “taking into account” the concerns of creditors who have demanded more cuts to pensions and the introduction of higher taxes.

Athenians awoke yet again Tuesday to the bleak reality of closed banks and more lines at cash machines for their daily withdrawal limit of €60 euros, amid dread the ATMs could soon be running empty.

“The process will be fast”.

A sombre looking president of the European Union tonight called the crisis “the most critical moment in our history”.

(AP Photo/Petros Karadjias). Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, left, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, center, and the new Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos pose for the photographers during the swearing in ceremony at the Presidential…

If the European Commission, the worldwide Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank approve, Eurogroup finance ministers will meet on Saturday to recommend opening negotiations on a conditional assistance program.

He also said it was “an idea the prime minister judged to be potentially helpful to him in reaching an agreement” with Greece’s creditors.

We will also include additional actions that the Republic will undertake to further strengthen and modernize its economy.

George Katrougalos, a minister for administrative reform, said that a decision must be made to reopen the banks, but “that’s probably is not technically possible this week”.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann warned that if there were no deal on Sunday, euro zone governments would have to prepare “Plan B”, code for Greece losing all access to euros and finding itself excluded from the currency bloc. “I say it is no longer about weeks, but a matter of days”, Merkel said.

The effect of humanitarian help for Greece may be more symbolic than anything else, said Daniel Gros, director for economy and finance at the Brussels-based Centre for European Policy Studies. Tsipras insisted that the crisis was not Greece’s alone but one that confronted Europe as a whole.

He said that unfortunately the Greek government has not done anything to improve the economic situation in the country during this time.

Jaeger says he hasn’t yet seen the initial request for aid that Greece submitted and can’t assess it.

The leaders of the eurozone expressed their anger and frustration but agreed to give Alexis Tsipras a last chance during the Tuesday’s meeting to come up with a final proposal that shows some feasible options how to save his struggling country from a financial devastation.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, “I’m extremely somber about this summit“.

Mr Tsipras said his government will submit “credible reform” proposals to its creditors on Thursday.

At stake is more than just the future of Greece, a nation of 11 million that makes up just 2 percent of the euro zone’s economic output and population.

He called on leaders of European Union countries to try to find a consensus, stressing that the bankruptcy of Greece and the insolvency of its banking system will affect all Europe also in the geopolitical sense.