Euro-zone leaders will hold an emergency summit in Brussels to discuss the Greek issue after FinMins failed to reach a deal, European Union President Donald Tusk announced.
“It is time to urgently discuss the situation of Greece at the highest political level,” Tusk said in a statement. The summit will start at 7 p.m.
The meeting was initially cited by an EU official in Brussels, hours after the regular Eurogroup session ended without a cash-for-reforms deal.
“Given the outcome of today’s Eurogroup meeting it is time to urgently discuss the situation of Greece at the highest political level,” Reuters quoted the official as saying.
Speaking after Thursday’s meeting, Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters that “… Regrettably … too little progress has been made. No agreement is in sight,” he said, noting however, that it was still possible to avert a Greek default.
Djisselbloem added that the Eurogroup had asked the Greek government to submit “alternative” proposals by the end of the month for the extension of the bailout program.
“There is still time to find an agreement and extend the current program,” he said.
On his part, EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici reminded that five months of intensive negotiations had failed to produce an agreement, even though the eurozone’s integrity was the goal of all parties concerned.
“About five months now we’ve been talking to the Greek government … Balanced proposals … have been made by the institutions to the Greek authorities … We’re waiting for credible counter-proposals,” he said, adding “that we all know what the deadlines are”.
Moreover, he warned that the end of June was a “game over” deadline for finding an agreement, while appealing to the radical leftists in power in Athens to “act in a constructive spirit and flexibility”.
Finally, IMF head Christine Lagarde emphasized that Greece cannot delay paying installments to the Funds, with 1.6 billion owed this month.
She issued the threat after a Eurogroup meeting concluded without any progress on the Greek issue.
“There is no grace period or two-month delay, as I have seen here and there,” she reiterated.
Lastly, in between Brussels and Athens, here’s what Yanis Varoufakis posted on his personal webpage, namely, what he said he announced at Thursday’s Eurogroup meeting (click below):
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