Greece’s Tsipras eyes ‘final exit’ from crisis

Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi said it was for the government to ultimately decide “whether they want to stay in euro or not”.

Germany’s Wolfgang Schaeuble demanded that officials from the European Central Bank and the European Commission detail their plans to shield the rest of the bloc from the fallout from a Greek exit. Tsakalotos held notes, written on hotel stationery, that included the words “no triumphalism” – an apparent reminder not to gloat after the Sunday referendum.

“The discussion took place in a positive climate”, he said.

While Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said on his way into the meeting that it could be part of a solution, his Slovak counterpart said it was a red line for him.

BRUSSELS (AP) – Frustrated and angered eurozone leaders gave Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras a last-minute chance Tuesday to finally come up with a viable proposal on how to save his country from financial ruin.

Greece is asking for a new European bailout as it runs short of time to prevent a deepening financial crisis forcing it out of the euro.

Greece has until Thursday to submit a reform plan for a bailout package, European Union president Donald Tusk said after an emergency summit of eurozone leaders.

Speaking after the summit French President Francois Hollande added: “It is impossible to lose time”.

Mr Tsipras is to address the European Parliament today in a last-ditch bid to obtain substantial debt relief.

“We’re inclined to help Greece but Greece must follow Europe’s rules”, he said in an interview on Spain’s Telecinco evening news program. “It starts in the coming hours with the aim of concluding it by the end of the week, at the latest”, he said.

Following a day’s worth of talks aimed at finding a way out of months of bitter deadlock, European leaders were scathing in their assessments of Greece’s proposals, calling them inadequate and demanding the Greek government return with a detailed plan by Thursday.

“You know, there was a promise for today”, said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite. “That is certainly the case, but if they say “no” they will have to introduce another currency after the referendum because the euro is not available as a means of payment”. It seems they have put the old proposals on the table again, if we can believe the reports.

Many of his new colleagues were irritated that Tsakalotos had failed to present concrete plans to bridge the nation’s financing gap, prompting some to question the goal of interrupting their vacations to show up. The Greek government is taking a large risk with the interests of the Greek people.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is particularly pointed in explaining that, of course, other European countries respect the results of Greece’s referendum and its national sovereignty.

“It’s not a matter of weeks, we have only a few days”, Merkel told reporters.

United States President Barack Obama spoke by telephone to both Merkel and Tsipras before Tuesday’s summit, reflecting the concern.

However, a solution still depends on Tsipras putting forward convincing reform proposals and rushing key measures through parliament by the weekend to make Greece’s public finances sustainable.

“I have the strong impression there were 18… ministers of finance who felt the urgency of the situation and there is one… who doesn’t feel the urgency of the situation”, Belgian Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt said.

One big sticking point in the talks is Greece’s demand that the terms of its bailout loans be made easier.

Last week, Greece became the first developed economy to default on a loan with the worldwide Monetary Fund.

Yesterday, as Greece’s debt negotiations entered a new hard-core round of brinkmanship mistaken by many observers for conciliatory gestures to Europe, observers warned that if Greece ultimately succeeds in squeezing more money out of its European creditors without making the necessary “austerity” concessions, their triumphant irresponsibility could go viral. If talks about a bailout programme stumble on without agreement, the ECB will have little choice but to keep a tight strangle-hold on Greek bank funding.