'No new plan' before summit as Greece debt crisis looms

Eurozone finance ministers say Greece has submitted no new proposals to secure a deal with its international creditors at a meeting in Brussels.

They had urged Greece to submit fresh plans after its people rejected a draft bailout in a referendum.

Greece said it had proposed a few changes and hoped to secure “a mutually beneficial agreement on the basis of the mandate of the referendum”.

But Germany said there was “still no basis” for talks on a new bailout.

The finance ministers were meeting ahead of a summit of eurozone leaders in Brussels.

The Greek side gave a presentation at the finance ministers’ meeting on Tuesday. However, there was no new written plan.

The Greek government said: “Today’s Eurogroup was not supposed to take decisions but rather prepare for the summit.

“The Greek side has presented its proposals since last Tuesday and these proposals remain on the table – with a few ameliorations. The proposals will be discussed today and tomorrow.”

Mr Dijsselbloem said Greece would be sending a new letter requesting support from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the fund set up in 2012 to fund eurozone members in financial difficulties.

He said the Eurogroup would discuss this on Wednesday but that creditors would have to look at Greece’s finances and debt sustainability to see “if we can formally start the negotiations”.

The lack of a new written plan was criticised by some in the eurozone.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said as she arrived for the leaders’ summit: “We still do not have the basis for negotiations… it is not a question of weeks anymore, but a question of a few days.”

Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told a Spanish reporter: “There was no proposal. We only talked about general things. And we don’t have time to waste.”

Malta’s PM Joseph Muscat tweeted that this “doesn’t help this evening’s eurozone leaders’ meeting”.

Reflecting the level of difficulty at the meeting, another eurozone official said: “If they really plan to present something formal tomorrow, they may not find anyone to read it.”

Greek PM Alexis Tsipras is set to address the European Parliament on Wednesday, a Greek government source said.

A picture of Angela Merkel wearing an old Prussian military helmet dominates the front cover of Bild. “Today,” the headline reads “we need the Iron Chancellor!” referring to Otto von Bismarck, who first held the post.

For weeks the tabloid has been leading the charge against Greece. Like many here, it has had enough. “No more billions for Greece,” it urged on Tuesday.

The chancellor is under huge domestic pressure not to cave in to Greek demands for debt relief. Her deputy, Sigmar Gabriel, has said that to do so would destroy the eurozone.

And on Tuesday the CSU (her party’s Bavarian ally) went further: general secretary Andreas Scheuer wants Berlin to reject further negotiations, let alone a third bailout package. The Bavarian finance minister, Markus Soeder, has said he simply wants Greece out of the eurozone.

And these are the MPs who will have to vote before negotiations over any proposed new deal can even start. Mrs Merkel says she wants to keep the eurozone together; she’s got a battle on her hands at home first.

Source-BBC