Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also said of Greece: “The tune has changed, it’s not what we were hearing until now and that’s positive”.
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Just two days after a landslide victory in a referendum seen as a proxy on his negotiating stance, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras flew to an emergency meeting in Brussels.
A meeting of European finance ministers broke up Tuesday without new proposals from Greece for a desperately needed bailout, but the head of the gathering said a formal request from Athens for a rescue package was expected by Wednesday morning.
He said Greece’s proposals, which European officials have said must be finalized and submitted by Thursday, aim to address the country’s problems beyond the immediate financing requirements.
Overcoming their surprise when Alexis Tsipras failed to present them with a detailed reform blueprint, the leaders reluctantly agreed to a final summit on Sunday, saying the days leading up to it could give both sides an opportunity to stave off collapse of the struggling but defiant member nation.
Greece formally submitted on Wednesday a request to the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), considered Europe’s bailout fund, for a third bailout.
When Greece became insolvent in 2010, instead of restructuring the debt and reforming the economy, the “toxic option” was chosen: “Extending new loans to a bankrupt entity while pretending that it remains solvent”. A few called for compromise. Britain is not part of the euro.
They warned that any bailout deal would come with much tougher requirements than a previous deal offered, which the Greeks rejected in a referendum earlier this month.
Ex- Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis may have found his resignation hard to swallow but the same could not be said for his beer.
Tsipras vowed to continue reforms but warned about the austerity-weariness of the public.
Now the proposal needs to be considered again although the Greek people voted against it as asked to do by their government.
“This has exhausted the patience and resilience of the Greek people”, he said.
But after the USA market close, European leaders were less upbeat.
The Greek government has been told by its eurozone partners not to expect debt relief any time soon, amid fading hopes of decisive action to stop the country tumbling out of the currency union.
But Tusk reiterated Sunday’s summit was the final chance for a deal to avoid a so-called “Grexit” – Greece crashing out of the 19-nation single European currency – which would have global repercussions.
President Obama and Merkel spoke by phone earlier in the day, and agreed it was “in everyone’s interest to reach a durable agreement that will allow Greece to resume reforms, return to growth, and achieve debt sustainability within the eurozone”, according to the White House.
China’s wobbly economy hit commodity prices and commodity-sensitive currencies hard on Wednesday while Greece’s standing in the eurozone could be on its last legs. That’s something many European leaders – including Germany’s Angela Merkel – have ruled out.
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It did not, however, disclose the size of the loan Greece was seeking. This was more than enough time for the Greek government to stabilize the economic situation in the country and help its residents, ” Reirs believes. That includes Euro periphery bond yields, suggesting that European policymakers have managed to corral the possibilities of a ripple effect impacting the eurozone should debt-laden Greece be shown the door.
