Tsipras, 40, insists that instead of Grexit, the creditors will now finally have to talk about restructuring Greece’s massive 240 billion euro (S$358 billion) debt to them.
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In other words, Piketty said, when it comes to how to handle Greece in 2015, the best argument against Germany might be Germany circa 1953. “The ultimate insolvency of the country seems to be imminent”, Mr. Gabriel said, adding that it was up to Greece to prevent it.
After talks in Paris, Mr Hollande and Mrs Merkel said the door was still open for debt negotiations, but detailed proposals from Greece were needed.
Meanwhile, the European Central Bank said it would maintain its current emergency liquidity assistance to Greece. Paper is already running out in Greece and books may stop being published.
He said the two of them had taken note of the message sent earlier by Greek political parties expressing their desire for Greece to remain in the euro zone.
Greece lately has failed to hit budget surplus targets, and the global Monetary Fund last month said its debt burden appeared unsustainable without further relief measures.
Hollande accused Mrs Merkel of failure. The first one is Greece, a country in very hard social and economic conditions. Warning that “there is no easy way out”, he said there is a chance it could “spill over” into the United Kingdom and stall the economic recovery. “We have everything we need to manage the situation”. “Europe is an assembly founded on values, principles, on a conception of the world.. a conception founded on freedom, openness, and also on respect”. And what would it mean for the eurozone if we’d do it?
Top officials in both the U.S. and Japan called on both sides to seek a resolution.
“Greece is no longer capable of sticking to the disciplines of the eurozone”, said Juppé.
President François Hollande will meet with Angela Merkel on Monday evening for a “working dinner”, the day after Sunday’s crunch referendum. French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said Monday on Europe 1 radio that “discussions on the debt are not taboo”.
“In this Europe there is room for solidarity”. Any proposals Greece has, Merkel said, should be on the negotiating table this week. There is no consensus about how to deal with the migrants washing into southern Europe – in growing numbers – from Africa and the Middle East, a concern that has become greater with the prospect of Greece falling deeper into crisis. When German lawmakers were last called upon to vote on extending the Greek bailout in February, 29 deputies from her center-right bloc broke ranks and opposed the government.
Benoit Hamon, the ex- French education minister, said: “Merkel has lost”. Premier Tsipras is to unveil his government’s proposals on Tuesday at a hastily-arranged emergency summit of the 19 eurozone countries in Brussels.
The ECB also chose to raise the amount of collateral Greek banks must post for any loans. Refusal will give the nod for the lifeline to be cut, precipitating a devastating banking collapse.
Tomorrow will be a crucial day, with the European Central Bank governing council meeting, as well as Eurozone Finance Ministers.
In a blow to Greek hopes, the European Commission dismissed the No vote as nothing more than a “signal” because the poll was “neither legally nor factually correct”.
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But Germany’s economy minister warned against any unconditional write-off of Greece’s debt, saying it would destroy the single currency. If an agreement between the German and French governments can be reached tonight on how to handle any emerging Greek proposal, this will be a truly key event in determining what plays out.
