German media speculates on what the 5 leaders said in Berlin

The German press believes that there’s more to the meeting than meets the eye

The German press has been abuzz with its own take on the meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, ECB Chief Mario Draghi, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and IMF Chief Christine Lagarde.  Most of the German press interpreted the meeting as a “last offer to Greece”.

Sources state that there has been no leak concerning the meeting because the participants want Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to be the first to read the text so that it does not appear to be an ultimatum.

Frankfurter Allgemeine calls the meeting a “the last-chance night-time summit” for Greece, with the German government spokesman confirming that the officials agreed to continue talks with “real intensity” and will keep the line of communication open with Athens.

On its part, Suddeutsche Zeitung describes the conclusion of the talks between the five as “the last proposal.” It reports that many estimate that the talks in Berlin that ran for three hours are a prelude to a decision on the future of Greece in the euro area.

Zeit notes that the meeting was the last effort for a compromise solution on Greece, however the results of the meeting still remain unknown.

Die Welt’s sources referred to the meeting as a last proposal for Greeks that “sets strict guidelines for the running program.” The newspaper states that people involved in negotiations point to an effort by Athens to approach its creditors with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras telling a source that he is ready to discuss an increase to the retirement age and pension cuts though there is no specific proposal as yet.

Handelsblatt points to negotiations with Athens being in their last lap as Athens heads to pay a 300-million-euro installment on Friday.
The absence of Tsipras at the meeting is viewed by Der Spiegel as indication that Greece’s creditors may be interested in making a final compromise offer to Greece.