Eurozone leaders are meeting late into the night in Brussels in a bid to agree terms for a new bailout for Greece.
The emergency summit is trying to find a compromise that will stop Greece running out of money and keep it in the euro.
Eurozone finance ministers submitted a list of measures to the leaders following two days of fraught discussions.
But one Greek government official called the proposals "very bad".
Another
unnamed official said some of the proposals appeared designed to
"humiliate" the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his left-wing
Syriza government.
The summit has paused twice to allow
consultations between Mr Tsipras, German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
French President Francois Hollande and European Council President Donald
Tusk. Follow the latest updates here
The four-page document of draft proposals put forward by eurozone finance ministers include:
Reforms set out by Greece to be ratified by parliament by Wednesday, 15 July
"Ambitious" reforms to pensions and labour markets
International creditors to work on the ground in Athens and have full oversight of draft legislation
Possible transfer of €50bn in "valuable" Greek assets to external fund for eventual privatisation
Possible talks on "swift negotiations
on a time-out from the euro area, with possible debt restructuring" if a
bailout is not agreed
However, one senior EU official said there was no chance of
"time-out" proposal surviving in any final document to be approved by
eurozone leaders. Another official said there was no provision and
therefore no legal basis for such an arrangement in the EU treaties.
Media captionGreek PM Alexis Tsipras: "We can reach an agreement tonight if all parties want it"
Tough choices for Greece - by Paul Kirby, BBC News website Europe editor
There
may only be four pages, but if this draft document is agreed, it would
be an extremely difficult pill for Greeks to swallow.
For Alexis Tsipras and his left-wing Syriza-led administration, some of the ideas would be little short of humiliation.
Even
if Greek MPs pass sweeping reforms by Wednesday, the government would
have to allow international creditors full monitoring of its work in
Athens and agreement of draft laws in advance.
Syriza came to power promising an end to such oversight.
Another possible step is to "amend or compensate" for any laws Syriza pushed through that ran counter to what was agreed with the eurozone in February.
That might mean overturning the reinstatement of 4,000 civil servants such as school guards and cleaning ladies. Are Greeks heading for Grexit? Could euro survive temporary exit of Greece? Why did Greece hold a referendum? Arriving for Sunday's meeting, Mr Hollande dismissed any suggestion of a "time-out" for Greece.
"There
is no temporary Grexit, there is a Grexit or there is not a Grexit," he
said, adding that he would "do everything to find a deal tonight".
Mr
Tsipras was also upbeat, telling reporters: "I'm here ready for an
honest compromise... we can reach an agreement tonight if all parties
want it."
Media captionAngela Merkel: "We must be sure to weigh the pros and cons"
But
Mrs Merkel said "the most important currency has been lost... trust and
reliability" in the last few months of negotiations with Greece, and
there would be "no agreement at any price".
"We have to make sure
the pros outweigh the cons - for Greece's future, for the entire
eurozone and the principles of our collaboration," she said.
The head of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, said a deal was absolutely vital to the future of Europe.
"The
alternative will be that over the next few years we are going to find
ourselves in a catastrophic state of affairs as far as Greece is
concerned," he told a news conference in Brussels.
Greece in numbers
€320bn
Greece's debt mountain
€240bn
European bailout
177% country's debt-to-GDP ratio
25% fall in GDP since 2010
26% Greek unemployment rate
Reuters
The Greek government earlier this week set out a new list of austerity measures to try to secure the bailout.
They included many measures that had been rejected by the Greek people in a referendum a week ago.
Despite this the proposals won the overwhelming backing of Greece's parliament in the early hours of Saturday morning.
Technical
experts from Greece's creditors - the European Commission, the European
Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund - also said the
proposals were a basis for negotiations.
Media captionGreeks while away time as their fate is settled elsewhere - Gavin Hewitt reports
However,
as eurozone finance ministers gathered on Saturday in Brussels it
became clear that countries were divided over the issue of a third
bailout for Greece.
Reports have emerged of a "tough, even violent" atmosphere at times as the talks went on late into Saturday evening.
Germany's
Wolfgang Schaeuble, who has taken a tough line on Greece, seemed to be
at the centre of much of the heated debate, Reuters news agency reports.
One
participant said Mr Schaeuble had to sit down with French finance chief
Michel Sapin to clear the air before the talks resumed on Sunday.
One who was noticeably keeping a calm head was said to be Greece's new finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos.
But time is running out to prevent Greece's economic collapse.
Banks
have been closed for two weeks and a €60 daily limit on cash machine
withdrawals, imposed on 28 June, remains in force for Greek citizens.
There is little money left in the banks and public sector workers are due to be paid this week.
Greece fell into arrears on an IMF repayment on 20 June and faces a €3bn payment to the European Central Bank on 20 July.
It has already received two bailouts totalling €240bn since 2010. Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis told the BBC
on Saturday that if there was a new deal, banks could reopen within the
week, but he admitted it could take a "few months" to remove capital
controls.
Are you in Greece? What is your reaction to the latest developments? Are you planning to travel to Greece this summer? Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your story.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist. You can also contact us in the following ways:
No comments:
Post a Comment