Athens Resists Creditors' New Deal
At an emergency meeting Tuesday, Greece’s creditors outlined yet another agreement to help the leftist government in Athens put its country out of its dire financial situation.
A joint effort by the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund laid out the terms for a cash-for-reforms deal in an effort to finally conclude four months of heated negotiations that could infuse some cash into the country before it runs out of money.
The leaders of Germany and France met with those institutions in Berlin to pressure the lenders to find an immediate solution to Athens' difficulties.
One source who attended the meeting reported that German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande would put the plan to Tsipras by telephone to try to secure his approval.
"It covers all key policy areas and reflects the discussions of recent weeks. It will be discussed with (Greek Prime Minister Alexis) Tsipras tomorrow," a senior EU official said.
Tsipras, who only recently won his country’s elections, has sworn not to surrender to more austerity and has been sending his own reform proposals to Brussels on Monday before the others could provide their version. Euro zone representatives have rejected Tsipras’s proposals as insufficient.
Meeting in Brussels
Nevertheless, according to one Greek government official, Tsipras would be traveling to Brussels on Wednesday for a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in the evening at Juncker's bid.
Greece is close to running out of money and has threatened to let lapse an IMF payment due this week. Economists are certain, however, that the Greek PM will have to swallow his pride and accept the new bailout agreement or face a Greek default and a probable exit from the euro zone, which would prove highly detrimental to Europe’s single currency.
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