Greek debt crisis: Tsipras gets ultimatum to reach deal or face Grexit - as it happened
On Sunday, European leaders will meet for a summit that will decide whether Greece gets another bailout or leaves the eurozone
- Summary: Most critical five days in Europe’s history
- Tusk: We face ‘worst case scenario’ without a deal
- Juncker: We have a detailed Grexit plan
- Merkel: Greece must produce detailed proposals this week
- VIDEO: Greek economy is bleeding
Updated
- Summary: It's deal or Grexit
- Tsipras: We want a final exit from the crisis
- Tusk: Just 5 days to solve Greek crisis
- Tusk-Juncker press conference begins
- Merkel: Expect Greece to request multi-year bailout by Thursday
- Renzi hopes for happy ending for Greece on Sunday
- How Greece could avoid defaulting on the ECB
OK, that really is all for today.
Do check out my most recent summary, after a dramatic evening in which Greece was given just five days to reach a deal or face exit from the Euro.
Here’s Ian Traynor’s take:
Here’s how other news outlets are reporting it:
We’ll be back on Wednesday morning. Thanks for reading, and for your help. Goodnight! GW
The final moment of truth is approaching quickly for Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, says analyst Wolf Piccoli of Teneo Intelligence.
We have the best readers in the business, I tell you.
Regular contributor equusmulusoctopus has kindly translated Alexis Tsipras’s statement into English, after I posted the Greek video here.
We couldn’t manage without you all.
Another long night for the Brussels press pack:
Alistair Darling, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer, told bankers assembled in the Mansion House tonight that the situation in Greece could have repercussions for the UK’s continued membership of the European Union.
“The longer this goes on, [given] the signals it sends to the world about the eurozone and the European Union ...the more risk is the contagion will spread” on both political and economic terms, said Darling, adding:
Speaking at the annual dinner of the British Bankers’ Association, he urged campaigners in the UK’s referendum not to dwell on migration.
Darling was a key figure in the Scottish referendum but stood down as an MP at the general election. He urged business leaders to speak out Europe; they were slow to do so in the Scottish referendum.
And ahead of the budget on Wednesday where there is speculation that George Osborne may signal a review of the bank levy, Darling told the bankers:
Donald Tusk didn’t just blame Greece for the crisis, points out my colleague Ian Traynor.
As covered here, Tusk spoke of ‘All sides of the negotiations’ sharing responsibility for this mess.
Summary: It's deal or Grexit
We’ve seen so many deadlines come and go since the Greek debt crisis began. But tonight, I really believe we’re rattling towards a crucial decision.
Europe has given Athens one last chance to produce a credible economic reform plan that could underpin a new bailout. It has also threatened that Greece will leave the eurozone if it doesn’t comply before Sunday, when a new emergency summit will be held.
Speaking after tonight’s eurozone summit, European Council president Donald Tusk warned gravely that the next five days are the most critical in the European Union’s history.
He has called all 28 European leaders to Brussels on Sunday, which could be the moment that Greece begins to leave the Euro.
Tusk warned:
Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker revealed that Europe now has a “detailed” Grexit plan, suggesting a serious risk that Greece’s membership of the single currency is in doubt.
Juncker said:
A series of other eurozone leaders have added their weight to Tusk’s warning.
French President Francois Hollande said.
Italy’s Mattei Renzi said he was “not pessimistic” of a deal, adding:
But Germany’s Angela Merkel warned that Greece has not yet done enough to begin talks about a new bailout. Sunday’s summit has been called, she said, “because we think the situation is so dangerous”.
Alexis Tsipras, the Greek PM who arrived in Brussels with the backing of most Greek political parties, now faces the unpalatable option of signing up to a deal similar to the one that was rejected by the Greek people on Sunday.
Tsipras remained optimistic, though, telling reporters:
Earlier in the evening Tsipras had presented his case for a new bailout to EU leaders, raising hopes that a deal was still possible. It still is, but the consequences of failure have never been quite this clear.
So what happens next?
On Wednesday morning, Greece must resubmit a modified bailout request to the Eurogroup of finance ministers. They will then discuss it on a conference call.
And Tsipras is due to appear before the European Parliament on Wednesday morning, at 9am Brussels time (8am BST).
And the political reaction in Athens will also be crucial.
Updated
Here’s a videoclip of Alexis Tsipras’s statement following tonight’s summit (no English translation, sorry)
There is a glimmer of a possibility that Sunday’s summit may yet be cancelled, from the leaders of Luxembourg and Austria:
That also suggests, though, that if the Summit does go ahead, it will be to discuss Greece’s exit from the single currency.
The Austrian leader also criticised Tsipras’s decision to call a referendum on Sunday:
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