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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Graeme Wearden (now, and Sunday) and Helen Davidson (1am-7am BST)

Greek debt crisis: deal reached after marathon all-night summit - as it happened

European Council president Donald Tusk says an ‘agreekment’ has been reached

Closing summary: Finally, a deal

It’s all over in Brussels, and Eurozone leaders are heading home after what appears to be the longest summit in EU history.

So after more than 26 hours, we’re going to wrap this liveblog up and launch a new one.

Here’s the state of play:

Greece and the rest of the eurozone have finally reached an agreement that could lead to a third bailout and keep the country in the eurozone.

Greek PM Alexis Tsipras conceded to a further swathe of austerity measures and economic reforms after more than 16 hours of negotiations in Brussels. He has agreed to immediately pass laws to further reform the tax and pension system, liberalise the labour market, and open up closed professions. Sunday trading laws will be relaxed, and even milk producers and bakers will be deregulated.

The Financial Times has dubbed it:

the most intrusive economic supervision programme ever mounted in the EU.

Greece was forced to accept these measures after Germany piled intense pressure, as a price for a new deal. EU officials told us that Tsipras was subjected to “mental waterboarding” in closed-door meetings with Angela Merkel, Donald Tusk and Francois Hollande.

The plan must now be approved by the Athens parliament by Wednesday, and then voted through various national parliaments. If agreement is reached, talks can then begin towards a a new three-year bailout worth up to €86bn (£61bn), accompanied by further monitoring by Greece’s creditors.

The deal appears to end Greece’s five-month battle with its creditors, which has gripped the eurozone, dominated the political agenda and alarmed the markets.

Emerging from the summit, Tsipras admitted it had been tough - but insisted he had won concessions on debt relief (sometime in the future) as well as the medium-term funding plan.

He also managed to persuade the eurozone that a new investment fund, that will manage and sell off €50bn Greek assets, would be based in Athens not Luxembourg.

But generally, Tsipras appears to have finally capitulated in the face of threats that Greece would be ejected from the eurozone.

Attention now turns to Athens, where Tsipras will arrive home to swirling speculation of cabinet reshuffles, unity governments and even fresh elections.

To catch up with the action, visit our new liveblog here:

Updated

Stock markets around Europe have welcomed the tentative deal reached in Brussels this morning.

The eurozone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index hit a two-week high in morning trading and is currently up around 2%. Banking stocks in particular are benefiting from the relief rally and the eurozone banking index is up 2.7%.

Euro Stoxx
Euro Stoxx Photograph: Thomson Reuters

Individual country bourses are also higher:

  • Germany’s DAX is up 1.7%
  • France’s CAC 40 is up 2.2%
  • UK’s FTSE 100 is up 0.7%

On bond markets, the yields on those bonds seen as most vulnerable to a Greek exit from the euro fell back on relief the crisis could be nearing resolution. The yields on the 10-years bonds of Italy, Spain and Portugal all fell back.
On foreign exchange markets, the euro initially rallied against other major currencies before easing back as traders looked beyond intitial positive headlines out of Brussels and considered the hurdles still to come this week. The single currency is now down around 0.7% against the dollar at $1.108 and 1.2% against the pound at 71.120 pence.

Euro vs dollar
Euro vs dollar Photograph: Thomson Reuters

Analysts warn there are plenty of potential stumbling blocks ahead this week to unsettle markets.

Ruben Segura-Cayuel, Europe economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch comments:

“We argued last week that likely Grexit would be avoided this weekend. And at this time ... it looks like it will be avoided, but the days ahead are full of opportunities for it to materialise. We remain in the path of Grexit and everything needs to go perfect to avoid it. We likely need a cabinet reshuffle in Greece. Then the Greek government needs to pass seven packages before Wednesday just to open the door to start negotiations for a new programme. It also needs to propose more reforms in several fronts. After all this happens, then talks about a new (third) package can start, assuming other national parliaments agree to do so...

We still think there is room for a positive resolution, but even the best case scenario is a deal with many conditions and very gradual disbursements, which will have substantial implementation risks because of no ownership.”

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi speaks during a media conference after a meeting of eurozone heads of state at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday, July 13, 2015.
Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

Italy’s prime minister Matteo Renzi told at a press conference in Brussels that there were moments during the marathon talks when he would have bet that negotiations would fail.

“But today instead we have taken a decisive stop forward.”

“At many moments, a deal could not be taken for granted. We should not toast triumphantly about it, nor should we diminish it,” he said, adding that there was still much work left to be done.

He denied that Germany “alone” was in charge of Europe. While he acknowledged that the Germans had a “different approach”, he said it was one he respected because it represented the will of a democratically elected government and that the overnight talks has been a “real discussion”.

Renzi also acknowledged that he supported keeping the fund that will hold Greek assets in Athens, not Luxembourg, saying that such a move would have been “a humiliation”.

[going into the talks, the Italian PM declared that he would tell Germany that “enough is enough”]

And he added that Italy’s moment of crisis - despite still having high debt levels - was behind it.

“Italy is part of the solution and not the problem.”

Updated

Just read the body language:

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (R) and Finance Minister Euclide Tsakalotos leave at the end of an Eurozone Summit over the Greek debt crisis in Brussels on July 13, 2015. Juncker said there was no longer any risk of Greece crashing out of the euro after Athens agreed a bailout deal with eurozone partners. AFP PHOTO / THIERRY CHARLIERTHIERRY CHARLIER/AFP/Getty Images
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who told reporters that “Greece will fight to return to growth and to reclaim its lost sovereignty” Photograph: Thierry Charlier/AFP/Getty Images
European Council President Donald Tusk during a press conference.
Donald Tusk: “One can say that we have ‘agreekment’”. Photograph: Xinhua/REX Shutterstock/Xinhua/REX Shutterstock
Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde smiles as she leaves after a meeting of eurozone heads of state at the EU Council building in Brussels on Monday, July 13, 2015. A summit of eurozone leaders reached a tentative agreement with Greece on Monday for a bailout program that includes “serious reforms” and aid, removing an immediate threat that Greece could collapse financially and leave the euro. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
IMF managing director Christine Lagarde told reporters the deal was “a good step to rebuild confidence” Photograph: Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP
German chancellor Angela Merkel gives a press conference at the end of Eurozone leader summit on the Greek crisis European Union Emergency Summit, EU Headquarters, Brussels, Belgium.
Angela Merkel looks cheerful as she told reporters that the Greek parliament must approve the plan before the Bundestag gets involved Photograph: ZUMA/REX Shutterstock/ZUMA/REX Shutterstock

Updated

Alexis Tsipras has even agreed to consider reversing some of the measures his government has taken this year:

Does that mean that the Athens cleaning ladies, who were famously rehired after protesting their dismissals, will be laid off again?

The new measures Greece must now implement

The final Euro Summit statement confirms that Greece has agreed to immediately implement sweeping measures, after a bruising battle in Brussels:

This includes pension reforms, liberalising its economy (from Sunday opening hours to opening up closed professions), privatising its energy transmission network, reforming its labour market practices (including new rules on industrial action, and collective dismissals), and action on non-performing loans:

That is on top of the austerity its MPs agreed on Friday:

Here are the key points:

  • carry out ambitious pension reforms and specify policies to fully compensate for the fiscal impact of the Constitutional Court ruling on the 2012 pension reform and to implement the zero deficit clause or mutually agreeable alternative measures by October 2015;
  • adopt more ambitious product market reforms with a clear timetable for implementation of all OECD toolkit I recommendations, including Sunday trade, sales periods, pharmacy ownership, milk and bakeries, except over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, which will be implemented in a next step, as well as for the opening of macro-critical closed professions (e.g. ferry transportation). On the follow-up of the OECD toolkit-II, manufacturing needs to be included in the prior action;
  • on energy markets, proceed with the privatisation of the electricity transmission network operator (ADMIE), unless replacement measures can be found that have equivalent effect on competition, as agreed by the Institutions;
  • on labour markets, undertake rigorous reviews and modernisation of collective bargaining, industrial action and, in line with the relevant EU directive and best practice, collective dismissals, along the timetable and the approach agreed with the Institutions. On the basis of these reviews, labour market policies should be aligned with international and European best practices, and should not involve a return to past policy settings which are not compatible with the goals of promoting sustainable and inclusive growth;
  • adopt the necessary steps to strengthen the financial sector, including decisive action on non-performing loans and measures to strengthen governance of the HFSF and the banks, in particular by eliminating any possibility for political interference especially in appointment processes.

And on top of that, Greece will also establish a new fund to sell off valuable assets to help repay its new bailout, and refinance its banks.

Or as the statement put it:

  • develop a significantly scaled up privatisation programme with improved governance; valuable Greek assets will be transferred to an independent fund that will monetize the assets through privatisations and other means. The monetization of the assets will be one source to make the scheduled repayment of the new loan of ESM and generate over the life of the new loan a targeted total of €50bn of which €25bn will be used for the repayment of recapitalization of banks and other assets and 50% of every remaining euro (i.e. 50% of €25bn) will be used for decreasing the debt to GDP ratio and the remaining 50% will be used for investments.

Updated

The official statement has just been released:

Analyst: It's Merkel 1, Tsipras 0

Demetrios Efstathiou of ICBC Standard Bank says that Greece has been comprehensively routed by Germany in Brussels this weekend:

  • Tsipras had to concede on almost every point.
  • Merkel comes out as a winner, and should be able to get the deal though the German parliament.
  • Germany’s extremely tough position would serve as a warning to other Eurozone nations. There are arguments that she even pushed too far.
  • Varoufakis may have gambled, Tsipras and Syriza may have lost, but Greece may be the ultimate winner - Greece has a golden opportunity to implement in record time the drastic reforms that it desperately needed and which successive governments have been unwilling to commit to.
  • The formation of a national unity or special purpose government to pass the reforms in the tight time-frame is now required. Elections would have to follow at a later stage.
  • The debate will now move on to the reaction of the Greek people. There is no easy answer. Only time will tell. The way I see it is that the Greek people will be relieved to see their banks reopen, their pensions and savings to be still denominated in euros, and the tourist season not destroyed. They should also be celebrating the implementation of structural reforms, but I doubt that.
  • Greece must now push through parliament, by Wednesday, July 15th, a series of legislations that include the streamlining of the VAT system, and pension measures.

The FT’s Peter Spiegel is tweeting key points from the deal:

Alexis Tsipras appears to have failed to prevent the IMF being involved in Greece, as part of this new bailout.

Updated

The ball, it appears, is still in the Greek court:

Eurozone finance minister are due to convene again in a few hours, after their emergency meeting on Saturday night, and Sunday morning.

On the agenda: finding bridge financing to tide Greece through the summer while this third bailout is agreed.

But even if Greek banks are able to reopen, there’s little hope of capital controls being lifted until a third bailout has actually been agree.

The political agreement reached in Brussels means the European Central Bank shouldn’t take the dramatic step of terminating the emergency liquidity provided to Greek banks.

It could even provide more, allowing Greek banks to reopen after two weeks.

Updated

Today’s bailout deal comes just eight days after the Greek people comprehensively rejected its creditors’ original demands.

Analyst Marc Ostwald of ADM Investor Services reckons the measures in this bailout package are “infinitesimally worse” than the ones turned down in last Sunday’s referendum:

Indeed what is on the table as a deal highlights that:

a) there is no long-term future for the Eurozone;

b) the desire on the part of Eurozone creditor nations to completely destroy the Greek economy - it can certainly be asserted that this is indeed a worse deal than the 1919 Treaty of Versailles.

In terms of a near-term timeline, he says:

  • a) Tsipras will have to form a new government of national unity as soon as he gets back to Athens
  • b) By Wednesday 15th, Greece will have to pass laws including simplifying VAT rates, and applying VAT on a wider basis, cutbacks on pensions, and making its statistics agency independent.
  • c) Once these have been passed, ESM bail-out parliamentary process can commence, and this will require parliaments in Finland, Germany, Austria, Netherlands, Slovakia and Estonia to approve starting ESM talks
  • d) The Greek parliament will then have to rush through further laws to attain brige financing to pay the ECB on July 20th.

Updated

The full details of the Greek agreement hasn’t been released yet (but it may leak soon).

But the draft statement in Brussels last night demanded that Greece must immediately take these steps:

  1. Streamlining VAT
  2. Broadening the tax base
  3. Sustainability of pension system
  4. Adopt a code of civil procedure
  5. Safeguarding of legal independence for Greece ELSTAT — the statistic office
  6. Full implementation of automatic spending cuts
  7. Meet bank recovery and resolution directive

So the next few days in Athens will be very intense, as MPs are asked to approve new measures on top of the austerity agreed to on Friday night.

Nigel Farage, the leader of Britain’s eurosceptic UKIP party, has said the Greek parliament should reject the agreement:

“If I were a Greek politician I would vote against this deal. If I were a Greek ‘no’ voter I would be protesting in the streets. Mr Tsipras’s position is now at stake.”

“This conditional deal shows that national democracy and membership of the eurozone are incompatible.”

(quotes via AP)

Last night, tens of thousands of social media users had similar thoughts, as they flocked to the #thisisacoup hashtag.

Video: Agreement reached

Eurozone reaches deal on new Greek bailout<br>epa04844837 European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (L), EU council President Donald Tusk (R) and President of Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem (C) giving a final press conference at the end of Eurozone leader summit on the Greek crisis, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 13 July 2015. Eurozone leaders have unanimously agreed to a new bailout programme for Greece, EU President Donald Tusk says. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (left), EU council President Donald Tusk (right) and President of Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem (centre). Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA

Here’s the full statement which a bleary-eyed Donald Tusk delivered this morning.

Good morning. Today, we had only one objective: to reach an agreement. After 17 hours of negotiations, we have finally reached it. One can say that we have ‘agreekment’. Leaders have agreed in principle that they are ready to start negotiations on an ESM programme, which in other words means continued support for Greece.

There are strict conditions to be met. The approval of several national parliaments, including the Greek parliament, is now needed for negotiations on an ESM programme to formally begin.

Nevertheless, the decision gives Greece a chance to get back on track with the support of European partners. It also avoids the social, economic and political consequences that a negative outcome would have brought. I welcome the progress and the constructive position of Greece that helps to bring back trust among euro zone partners.

Following national procedures, the Eurogroup will work with the Institutions to swiftly take forward the negotiations. Finance ministers will also as a matter of urgency discuss how to help Greece meet her financial needs in the short term, so-called bridge-financing.

I would like to thank the President of the Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and the Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem for their dedication and involvement in this progress. Without your work, today’s agreement wouldn’t be possible. Thank you.

Malta’s finance minister tweets:

French president Francois Hollande has confirmed that the Greek agreement will include an eventual re-profiling of Greek debt by extending the maturities.

This was a landmark summit, he adds, and we were afraid we might not have kept Greece with us.

Alexis Tsipras is heading away from Brussels, and straight into a political battle in Athens:

Alexis Tsipras also pledged to implement radical reforms to ensure the Greek oligarchy finally makes a fair contribution.

His key message is that he has battled hard for Greece, getting commitments on debt restructuring:

Tsipras defends bailout agreement

Alexis Tsipras
Alexis Tsipras Photograph: EbS

Alexis Tsipras has just spoken to the press, after a long night.

He defends the deal, saying he faces difficult decisions and tough dilemmas.

But this agreement will allow us to stand on our feet again.

He points out that he managed to persuade leaders not to place the new €50bn recapitalision fund in Luxembourgh (it will remain in Athens)

He tells reporters that he has also won medium-term funding for Greece, and eventual debt relief.

And then Tsipras, accompanied by finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos and his negotiating team, exit the summit after a remarkable night - and embraces the French president en route.

You can watch the action in Brussels here:

Leaders speak following the end of the eurosummit

Relations between Berlin and Athens have deteriorated badly this year, but Angela Merkel also suggests that they can be restored.

What about debt relief?

Chancellor Merkel says that the eurogroup is ready to consider extending the maturity on Greek loans, but a “nominal haircut” is out of the question.

Updated

Merkel: No need for Plan B

Angela Merkel is now giving a press conference too.

She tells reporters that there is no need for Plan B now.

So the threat of Grexit is off the table, even though a new bailout hasn’t been agreed yet (and that’s an important point).

Merkel says she can recommend “with full conviction” that the Bundestag should agree to open negotiations with Greece. But the Greek parliament must approve the entire conditions before the German parliament votes.

She confirms that a €50bn fund will be created, using Greek assets.

It will be a long and difficult road, she adds.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at the press conference at the end of talks.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks at the press conference at the end of talks. Photograph: Jean-christophe Verhaegen/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

How does Brussels feel about being accused of launching a coup against Greece?

I said before the referendum that the situation would be worse after the referendum, Juncker replies, and it is.

This is a compromise, there are no winners and losers...

“It is a typical European arrangement”

Dijsselbloem says that talks on bridge financing for Greece will begin immediately, to help cover its debt repayments this summer.

Q: How will Tsipras possibly get these measures through parliament, given they are at odds with what Syriza promised when it was elected?

Juncker says he’s convinced that the Greek parliament can approve all the measures agreed today.

Updated

Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem tells the press conference that €50bn of Greek assets will be transferred to a new fund.

That fund will contribute to the recapitalisation of Greek banks.

BUT! This fund will be based in Athens, not Luxembourg as originally planned.

Jeroen Dijsselbloem giving a final press conference.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem giving a final press conference. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA

Updated

Greek government must act immediately

Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem says that the Greek parliament must immediately start passing legislation to implement the measures agreed in Brussels.

If Athens does that on Tuesday and Wednesday, then the Eurogroup can take a view on Wednesday, and then national parliaments can give their own approval for a third bailout.

Then the firm negotiations can take place over a new bailout from the ESM (where the issue of debt sustainability can also be addressed)

Updated

There is no Grexit, says Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.

Tusk also welcomes Greece’s “constructive position”, which has helped restore trust.

Finance ministers will now start urgent talks on discussing bridge financing for Greece, says Tusk.

That’s because Greece must repay over €7bn to the ECB in July and August, before any bailout cash can be handed over.

And this deal includes “strict conditions”, Tusk warns.

Several national parliaments will need to give their approval, including the Greek parliament, says Tusk.

Tusk: We have an aGreekment

Today we had only one objective, to reach an agreement. And after 17 hours, we have it, says a tired looking EC president Tusk.

Some could say we have an aGreekment.

I think someone needs to go to bed!

The press conference is underway now. You can watch it here

Austria’s chancellor Walter Faymann has warned that it will be “very difficult” to implement this agreement, but it should be a positive result for Greek social cohesion.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde has said that the deal is a “good step to rebuild confidence”, according to Bloomberg TV.

DEAL REACHED OVER THIRD GREEK BAILOUT

In the last few moments, eurozone leaders have agreed that negotiations should begin with Greece over a third bailout.

President Donald Tusk has tweeted the news himself:

We’ll get the details of the agreement soon, at a press conference in Brussels.

Updated

Malta’s prime minister has confirmed that EU leaders have hammered out an agreement on Greece.

So we may finally discover exactly what Alexis Tsipras has been forced to accept by Greece’s creditors.

  • Has he managed to resist the IMF’s involvement in a third bailout?
  • Has the eurozone dropped its demand that €50bn of Greek assets should be handed to an external fund?
  • And will the final statement still include the controversial threat of a ‘time out’ from the eurozone?

Belgium’s prime minister Charles Michel has tweeted that a deal has been reached!

Deal in sight, finally?

Hold onto your hats, folks. There might just be a deal in Brussels, after probably the longest EU summit on record.

EU president Donald Tusk has just reconvened the EuroSummit with a “revised compromise proposal” on the table.

Finland’s finance minister has woken up after a relaxing night’s sleep, to discover that the leaders’ meeting is still going on (frankly, I share his surprise. GW)

Stubb is due back at the EC headquarters this afternoon, for yet another Eurogroup meeting. Surely the summit will be over by then?

I’ll shortly hand this blog back over to Graeme Wearden, who has had at least five minutes of sleep and will take you through the next who-knows-how-long of the summit.

As a parting post I’ll leave you with this - arguably the most notable achievement of the night.

Updated

15 hours later, talks deliver ultimatum and more Greek resistance

If your head is spinning, either because you’ve just woken up to find the talks are still going, or because you have been up all night following the talks, here is an excellent rundown of where we are at.

Ian Traynor and Jennifer Rankin write:

A weekend of high tension that threatened to break Europe in two climaxed on Sunday at a summit of eurozone leaders in Brussels where the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, François Hollande, presented Tsipras with an ultimatum.

The ultimatum - debated over more than 15 hours - entailed a series of draconian measures as the price of avoiding financial collapse and being ejected from the single currency bloc.

Tsipras acquiesced in most of the fiscal rigour demanded of him in four pages of summary instructions drafted by eurozone finance ministers.

But as Monday morning broke over Brussels, he was still resisting the creditors’ demands on two key points: on having the International Monetary Fund (IMF) involved in a proposed new three-year bailout, and on a controversial German demand for Greece to park €50bn (£36bn) in assets outside Greece, probably in Luxembourg, to serve as collateral for fresh loans and to provide privatisation proceeds to be used for debt servicing.


Fresh reports from the Guardian’s Ian Traynor on the continuing back and forth over the privatisation demands. Germany appears to be asking for more than others.

“Almost, almost” a deal

The Lithuanian President, Dalia Grybauskaitė, has now followed her Slovenian counterpart and left the summit.

CNBC is reporting its journalist asked if there was a deal.

“Almost, almost,” was the answer.

The Slovenian prime minister Miro Cerar has left the talks early, but will be represented in the Summit by Dutch PM Mark Rutte.

He tweets there is “one open issue left.” If earlier reports are correct that Tsipras has failed to have IMF supervision booted from the bailout offer, the last issue is likely to be the privatisation demand.

Tsipras has failed in his attempt to have IMF supervision axed from any Greek plan, according to Olaf Gersemann, business editor of Die Welt & Welt am Sonntag, citing his own sources. This was one of two sticking points for Tsipras.

Updated

“Market reaction in the euro is surprisingly muted,” Steven Englander, global head of Group-of-10 currency strategy at Citigroup has told AFP.

“The absence of agreement and toughness of terms are eye-catching, but investors are waiting for the outcome more than trying to anticipate it.”

While we wait for any kind of movement in Brussels, a quick market update.

Asian markets rose Monday while the euro was marginally lower, AFP reports.

In Japanese trade the euro dipped but managed to stave off heavy losses as the talks continued in Brussels.

It eased to $1.1136 from $1.1149 in New York late Friday. In earlier electronic trading, the single currency fell as low as $1.1089. It was also at 136.40 yen compared with 136.58 yen in US trade.

Summary

For those just waking up, welcome. Yes it is a new day, but the talks are still going. Everyone in Brussels is envious of your rest.

The summit has just in the last half hour taken another intermission, this time for “final consultations” after an earlier sidelines discussion between Tsipras, Merkel, Hollande and Tusk emerged after four hours with a proposed compromise.

The earlier proposal on the table would force Greece to vote through sweeping changes by Wednesday night. Or, it would be offered a ‘temporary Grexit’; an opportunity to restructure its debts.

Few details were available about just what that compromise entails, but reports from Brussels say there were still two very large sticking points for Greece, namely that Greece wasn’t happy with the involvement of the IMF in the post 2016 package, and the demand for €50bn in asset sales, with proceeds held in another country, was far too high. Current understanding now is that the absolute maximum they could raise through privatisation is €17bn, and money should be kept in Athens.

The former acting director of the IMF’s European department was none too impressed with the first issue.

Elsewhere, anger at the incredibly draconian demands being placed on Greece with this new bailout offer have sparked a social media campaign, #thisisacoup, against Germany and its finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble.

The campaign has been supported by many, including nobel laureate economist Paul Krugman, who lambasted the summit developments in his column at the New York Times.

Updated

Ian Traynor is suggesting an end is in sight. The summit has just taken another intermission, this time for “final consultations.”

There are all kinds of reporting, but none so bad as waiting on the end of an 11 hour meeting, it seems.

Despite Tusk’s claims of a compromise on the table, those two points mentioned earlier - IMF involvement in the Greece package and the privatisation fund - are increasingly looking like dealbreakers for Tsipras.

Greece wants the IMF to have a lesser role in the bailout package, and isn’t comfortable with the astronomical funds to be raised through privatisation and then held in Luxembourg. €17bn is the maximum it could raise, the Guardian’s Europe editor, Ian Traynor, reports.

There are also many questioning the sense in a group of people, no matter their ranks or experience, making decisions like this at 5am after an all night meeting.

Updated

Like a dripping tap, we are getting a few more details on what happened in the four hour meeting between Tusk, Merkel, Hollande and Tsipras. Tusk emerged saying the summit would resume with a proposed compromise.

According to reporters on the ground in Brussels, there are two issues still to sort out, with some unconfirmed reports that they are IMF supervision after 2016 and the contentious €50bn privatisation fund.

Updated

Summit resumes with "compromise"

The summit has now properly resumed, with Tusk reportedly to propose a “compromise” after the private meeting.

The Wall Street Journal begins this article with the Greek crisis in a nutshell.

A week ago, Greeks partied in the streets after voting to resoundingly reject terms of a new European bailout. On Sunday, those same streets were filled with a dazed and confused populace struggling to understand how they were now faced with swallowing a deal even tougher than the one they had just snubbed.

In the summer heat in central Athens, groups of people gathered around televisions at cafes showing Sunday’s live coverage of talks in Brussels, where top Greek officials were scrambling to negotiate a last-ditch rescue. Like Anna Christoforidi, many viewers struggled to understand the strange turnabout that could result in the screws being turned even tighter as a condition for Greece remaining in the eurozone.

Read the article in full here.

Tsipras, Merkel, Hollande and Tusk have reportedly ended their private meeting and the summit has restarted. Whether this will change the 5am press conference, or is the reason for it, I’m sure we’ll find out soon. Perhaps an agreement?

A press conference at 5am local time, media are hearing.

The late hour of this meeting is not only being criticised by tired media. Leipold is the former acting head of the IMF’s European department.

Updated

The New York Times has laid out some potential consequences of a Grexit with infographics. One looks at the debt of countries in similar positions and which could arguably demand more generosity if a precedent is set with Greece.

Have a look at it here.

An infographic from the New York Times article 'Why a Greece deal matters'.
An infographic from the New York Times article ‘Why a Greece deal matters’. Photograph: New York Times

Irish economist David McWilliams has a novel idea for Greece’s economic recovery - adopting the yuan.

There’s no point for the Greeks in going back to the drachma if that will destroy its banking system.

Why not do what Ireland has done over the years and adopt some other country’s currency?

What’s in it for China? Everything!

Read the rest of McWilliams’ idea here, because at this stage in negotiations, why not.

Updated

The Financial Times world trade editor notes a rather well composed photograph of Greece’s finance minister, Euclid Tsakalotos at the negotiations.

Anger at the demands on Greece, gathered on social media under the hashtag #thisisacoup, is gaining traction.

Nobel laureate economist, Paul Krugman, has lambasted the summit developments in his column at the New York Times, and thrown his support behind #thisisacoup.

Suppose you consider Tsipras an incompetent twerp. Suppose you dearly want to see Syriza out of power. Suppose, even, that you welcome the prospect of pushing those annoying Greeks out of the euro.

Even if all of that is true, this Eurogroup list of demands is madness. The trending hashtag ThisIsACoup is exactly right. This goes beyond harsh into pure vindictiveness, complete destruction of national sovereignty, and no hope of relief. It is, presumably, meant to be an offer Greece can’t accept; but even so, it’s a grotesque betrayal of everything the European project was supposed to stand for.

Updated

Hello, Helen Davidson here, taking over from Graeme Wearden after a very long night of talks which are not yet over.

On the bright side for those following the drawn out negotiations, AFP’s Danny Kemp has heard another summit on Wednesday may be avoided if Greece accepts and passes a couple of things to get the ball rolling.

This summit is turning into an old school all-nighter:

So I’m going to hand over to my colleague Helen Davidson for the next few hours.... GW

Brussels diplomats are redrafting tonight’s decision for the fourth time, says AFP’s Danny Kemp. And that offer of a temporary Grexit has been quietly dropped.....

Updated

US financial analyst George Pearkes has an interesting take on the idea that KwF (the German investment bank chaired by Wolfgang Schauble) might take control of some Greek assets: (he argues it’s not a scandal)

Updated

EU sources are now briefing that Greece’s immediate funding crisis could be averted - if a bailout deal was in the pipeline.

Funny place, Brussels. One minute they’re threatening to kick Greece out for five years, the next they’re looking for innovative ways to keep them in.

Cyprus’s spokesman reports that the summit will remain on pause for another 40 minutes, at least.

Tsipras making progress in the negotiations

Our Europe editor, Ian Traynor, is hearing that Alexis Tsipras is refusing to be beaten down, and is winning some concessions from creditors.

Tsipras may have sunk the idea that €50bn of Greek assets would be transferred to a Luxembourg fund (under the control of the German development bank KfW). It could be rather fewer assets, and it might not be Luxembourg either.

The Greek PM may even succeed in removing the threat of a temporary Grexit.

Updated

Those EU sources are making encouraging noises about progress now being made at the Summit.

The Brussels press pack are still hard at work -- they just swamped an EU official who wandered over for a briefing.

With the main summit taking a break, the leaders of Germany, France and Greece have headed off with president Tusk for another meeting.

Right now, this does not feel like Angela Merkel’s finest hour in the eurozone crisis.

The #thisisacoup protest is gathering pace:

Now this is interesting...

Rather than walking out, Alexis Tsipras is negotiating on four key points in tonight’s proposals, reports The Economist’s Tom Nuttall.

Incidentally, our readers flag up that the organisation which could take control of €50bn of “valuable Greek assets” is linked to none other than Wolfgang Schäuble himself:

User avatar for equusmulusoctopus

The Press Project has done some digging on the Luxembourg "Institution for Growth" to which the 4-page eurogroup paper demands that €50bn of Greek state property must be transferred. Guess what. This Luxembourg "institution" is wholly owned subsidiary of German KfW and the chairman of its board is a certain Wolfgang Schäuble.

The Institution for Growth was announced just two years ago, by Schäuble and Greek PM Antonis Samaras.

Update: KfW is the German development bank -- in 2012, we explained how it has had a huge impact in Germany. And in 2013, Berlin proposed that it provided loans to help companies in Southern European countries.

Updated

The scale of the demands being put on Greece tonight have alarmed German news magazine Spiegel. It has labelled them as a ‘deliberate humiliation’ of Greece, which Alexis Tsipras will struggle to get through parliament. Here’s the story

The Latvian delegation reckon tonight’s summit might run for another three to five hours!

Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, is playing the role of chief tweeter from the summit:

Bild, the German tabloid, is reporting tonight that Alexis Tsipras is going to propose early elections this autumn.

It reckons that Tsipras is also pondering asking the Greek president to form a unity government, to drive his reform programme through parliament, given the scale of opposition in Syriza. With the centrist To Potami party refusing to join a coalition, Tsipras has little choice but to go to the polls.

More here: Premier Tsipras strebt Neuwahlen an

Twitter users protest that #thisisacoup

Twitter users are using the hashtag #thisisacoup to show their anger about events in Brussels, and the demands being forced on Alexis Tsipras.

And right now, #thisisacoup is trending high across the social media network, just behind today’s tennis action. It’s tied in with another hashtag: #TsiprasLeaveEUSummit (he hasn’t, yet, anyway)

Twitter trends, Sunday night, July 12 2015

And here’s an example:

Eurozone leaders have been making slow progress through the four-page draft statement, since beginning the summit almost seven hours ago.

The word on the floor is that they’re barely halfway, and that talks over the privatisations Greece must make have stalled. So leaders are turning to page 3.

The statement about offering a short-term time-out is the final item of page 4. So it’s possible that it could yet be removed from the final text.

(reminder, you can see the proposals here)

France’s Libération asks the big question: What is Germany playing at?

Monday’s edition of The Guardian is also leading on the Greece crisis.

And here’s the story:

Greek crisis: surrender fiscal sovereignty in return for bailout, Merkel tells Tsipras

Once again, Greece is the front page story in the Financial Times:

Greece is giving a firm Oxi to the two most controversial elements of the eurozone plan:

Greek officials have just slammed the proposals on the table tonight, in a briefing with journalists.

But while they were highly critical of chancellor Angela Merkel’s actions, European Central Bank president Mario Draghi was credited with being “very supportive”.

But Draghi needs a political signal that a deal is possible, to avoid the ECB cutting support for Greece’s banks on Monday.

Summary: Tsipras's night of pain in Brussels

Eurozone leaders’ meeting<br>epa04844097 Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives at the eurozone leaders’ summit on the Greek crisis, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 12 July 2015. Greece is teetering on the edge of default, cut off from bailout aid, in arrears to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), owing large debt repayments this month and fending off suggestions that it could soon exit the eurozone. EPA/IAN LANGSDON
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives at today’s eurozone leaders’ summit on the Greek crisis. Photograph: Ian Langsdon/EPA

A quick recap, for anyone just tuning in.

Greece’s prime minister is under intense pressure tonight to accept even tougher economic reforms and austerity measures, or see his country pushed out of the eurozone.

Alexis Tsipas , the other 18 eurozone leaders, and the heads of the IMF, ECB and EU are locked in talks at the emergency summit to discuss Greece’s request for a third bailout.

The proposal on the table would force Greece to vote through sweeping changes by Wednesday night. Or, it would be offered a ‘temporary Grexit’; an opportunity to restructure its debts.

[In case no agreement could be reached, Greece should be offered swift negotiations on a time-out from the euro area, with possible debt restructuring].

The plan also suggests Greece surrenders €50bn of valuable assets to a euro-body, who would sell them off to pay down debt. Unless Athens cracks on with privatisations in a way it has never managed before.

We hear that Tsipras was put under the cosh in a meeting with Angela Merkel, Donald Tusk and Francois Hollande a couple of hours ago:

The draft proposal, which comes from this morning’s eurozone finance ministers, forces Greece to take these seven steps straight away:

  1. Streamlining VAT
  2. Broadening the tax base
  3. Sustainability of pension system
  4. Adopt a code of civil procedure
  5. Safeguarding of legal independence for Greece ELSTAT — the statistic office
  6. Full implementation of automatic spending cuts
  7. Meet bank recovery and resolution directive

And also get the ball moving on another five points:

  1. Privatize electricity transmission grid
  2. Take decisive action on non-performing loans
  3. Ensure independence of privatization body TAIPED
  4. De-Politicize the Greek administration
  5. Return of officials from its creditors to Athens

Professor Karl Whelan argues that Germany is trying to force Greece out.

Other analysts, economists and commentators are also staggered by the scale of these demands -- given Greece effectively agreed to its creditors former demands last week.

The developments have left Tsipras’s Syriza party reeling, with speculation of an imminent cabinet reshuffle, or even new elections.

And a group of anti-austerity protesters have gathered in Athens to urge the government not to cave in.

Tsipras himself said he believes a deal was possible tonight (but he didn’t suggest that it would be on the terms on offer)

There had been optimism early this afternoon, when Euro finance minister said they had made some progress at their own, sometimes acrimonious meeting.

Here’s how it looked:

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On the other side of the world, it’s Monday morning, and the financial markets are bursting into life.

The euro has promptly fallen, but it’s not a full-scale rout. It’s down around half a cent at $1.1114.

Syriza in shock over creditors' demands

Over in Athens there is mounting angst that if Greece is pushed too far, political turbulence will almost certainly erupt.

Our correspondent Helena Smith reports

While Greece’s fate was being debated in Brussels, in Athens the ruling radical left Syriza party was exhibiting signs of disintegration. Demands that the controversial reforms be approved by the Greek government and enacted into law by Wednesday were described as “utter blackmail” by leading party members and met with stunned disbelief.

Although sources close to prime minister Alexis Tsipras said the leader was now determined to do whatever was needed to keep Grexit at bay, political tumult also beckoned. Insiders conceded that a cabinet reshuffle – removing those ministers who had refused to vote the austerity package through parliament early Saturday – could come as early as Monday.

“What is sure is that we are going to have dramatic political developments,” said Nikos Bistis, a veteran politician from the centre left. “Basically Syriza is now split in two.”

By late Sunday it had become clear Tsipras’ u-turn, accepting measures he had once furiously spurned, had produced a tectonic split with potentially far-reaching consequences. In addition to suffering an unexpected loss of support with 17 MPs breaking ranks at the weekend – defections that strip his government of a working majority – 15 other lawmakers also indicated that they would not approve the agreement in its entirety when it was brought to the 300-seat House.

The MPs, who included two ministers, said they were radically opposed to endorsing an austerity programme that was not only ideologically at odds with their own beliefs but would exacerbate “the country’s agonising and tragic social economic problems.”

The resistance raises the spectre of Tsipras being forced to call fresh elections – a move described as potentially catastrophic for the country.

“Greece can bend up to a point,” said Aristides Hatzis, a prominent political commentator. “But after that there is no bending, only breaking. The breaking point may well come when Tsipras realises he has lost most of his parliamentary group.”

The embattled prime minister will also face substantial resistance from the parliament’s speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou in getting the policies fast-tracked through the House.

A Syriza hardliner, Kostantopoulou said at the weekend:

“the government is being blackmailed. The lenders are insisting on turning the “no” [of last week’s referendum] into “yes.” I could never vote for the contents of the agreement.”

While the leaders meet, Greece’s finance minister is talking to his German and French counterparts, reports Efi Koutsokosta of Euronews.

An opportunity for another dose of mental water-boarding?

Demonstrators are gathering in central Athens tonight to protest against fresh austerity measure being imposed on Greece:

Greece Awaits Eurozone Bailout Decision<br>ATHENS, GREECE - JULY 12: Anti-austerity demonstrators gather in front of the Greek parliament as Eurozone leaders in Brussels continue their discussions on July 12, 2015 in Athens, Greece. The people of Greece continue their daily life as much as possible as a planned meeting of European Union leaders is cancelled during “very difficult” talks over Greece’s third bailout continue. Eurozone finance ministers adjourned the talks last night and are set to resume today. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Greece Awaits Eurozone Bailout Decision<br>ATHENS, GREECE - JULY 12: A woman sits and reads a book as anti-austerity demonstrators gather in front of the Greek parliament and Eurozone leaders in Brussels continue their discussions on July 12, 2015 in Athens, Greece. The people of Greece continue their daily life as much as possible as a planned meeting of European Union leaders is cancelled during “very difficult” talks over Greece’s third bailout continue. Eurozone finance ministers adjourned the talks last night and are set to resume today. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Riot police have been deployed, but it all appears calm so far.

Greek riot police officers stand guard on the steps in front of the Parliament building during an anti-austerity demonstration in Athens.
Greek riot police officers stand guard on the steps in front of the Parliament building during an anti-austerity demonstration in Athens. Photograph: Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

Official: Tsipras given "mental waterboarding" over reform plans

Alexis Tsipras was given a very rough ride in his meeting with Tusk, Merkel and Hollande, our Europe editor Ian Traynor reports.

Tsipras was told that Greece will either become an effective “ward” of the eurozone, by agreeing to immediately implement swift reforms this week.

Or, it leaves the euro area and watches its banks collapse.

One official dubbed it “extensive mental waterboarding”, in an attempt to make the Greek PM fall into line.

An unpleasant image, that highlights just how far we have now fallen from those European standards of solidarity and unity.

And what on earth is Tsipras going to do? Capitulate, or walk away?

By our reckoning, there are four eurozone members who believe Greece should stay in the euro at all costs, five more who’d like to avoid Grexit if possible, and nine who are open to the idea:

Graphic: Eurozone members' approach to Grexit
Graphic: Eurozone members’ approach to Grexit

Economics professor Karl Whelan, of University College Dublin, believes the proposal for ‘temporary Grexit’ shows that Germany is determined to get Greece out of the eurozone.

He’s tweeted his thoughts:

The eurozone summit is restarting shortly, according to Cyprus government spokesperson Nikos Christodoulides.

The proposal that Greece hands over €50bn of state assets has gone down predictably badly:

The leaked proposal also suggests Greece hands over €50bn of “valuable Greek assets” over to eurozone authorities to be sold off over time!

That would kick in if Greece cannot deliver “a significantly speeded up” privatisation programme.

It would be a remarkable loss of sovereignty, even for a country used to being overseen by officials from the IMF, ECB and EU for most of the last five years.

Proposal: Greece to be offered euro time-out if no deal

The four-page proposal on the table tonight is now circulating in Brussels.

It confirms that Greece could indeed by offered a ‘temporary’ exit from the eurozone if it doesn’t agree a deal with its creditors tonight.

[In case no agreement could be reached, Greece should be offered swift negotiations on a time-out from the euro area, with possible debt restructuring].

Sky’s Ed Conway has helpfully uploaded all four pages. Turn straight to the last section to see the reference to a time-out.

The square brackets are important – that means that finance ministers couldn’t actually agree on this point, so have bumped it up to the leaders.

This must be one of the “big issues” that Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Eurogroup president, said was unresolved as he arrived at the summit.

If you’re just tuning in, this idea was proposed in a German finance ministry paper. Curiously, some ministers have said that Grexit wasn’t discussed at last night’s meeting … yet, there is the reference …

But as we mentioned earlier, François Hollande dismissed the idea of a temporary Grexit as he arrived at the Summit. And many observers are unimpressed (or aghast)

So will he cave in, or will Angela Merkel?

The meeting taking place now, between Tsipras, Donald, Merkel and Hollande is really crucial...

Updated

Tsipras, Merkel, Hollande and Tusk hold meeting

As I type, Donald Tusk, Alexis Tsipras, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande are holding a top-level meeting to discuss the proposals.

The Greek finance minister is also there, which means that Euclid is in a quadrilateral.....

Greek Finance Minister Tsakalotos chats Finland’s Finance Stubb during an euro zone finance ministers’ meeting on the situation in Greece, in Brussels<br>Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos (L) chats Finland’s Finance Minister Alexander Stubb during an euro zone finance ministers’ meeting on the situation in Greece, in Brussels, Belgium, July 12, 2015.
.

Finnish finance chief Alex Stubb has explained that Greece has just 72 hours to agree to the demands of its creditors.

As he left the eurogroup, Stubb explained that ministers were demanding “far-reaching conditionality, on three counts:

Number one, it needs to implement laws by July 15. Number two, tough conditions on for instance labour reforms and pensions and VAT and taxes.

And then number three, quite tough measures also on for instance privatisation and privatisation funds.

And the most important thing, he added, is that the whole package has to be approved by both the Greek government and the Greek parliament.

Let’s see if EU leaders come to the same conclusion tonight....

Updated

Ouch. This, according to Politico’s Tara Palmeri, is what the Eurogroup has proposed that Greece signs up to and passes into law, by Wednesday.

Updated

Developments in Brussels: Eurozone leaders are taking a break from their discussions, to consult with advisors (and in Malta’s case, to tweet about it)

Rather alarmingly, Germany’s proposal of a temporary Grexit has also made its way into the eurogroup conclusions:

The German finance ministry suggested this idea in a paper which leaked yesterday. The argument is that Greece can’t restructure its debts while a member of the eurozone.

But the idea is full of problems -- it completely sinks the idea that the eurozone is indivisible, and reduces it to a mere currency peg.

Also, it’s hard to go back once you’re out:

I’m sure Francois Hollande will repeat his opposition to the idea tonight:

Brussels reporters have got hold of the statement from the eurogroup, following today’s meeting of finance ministers.

And it shows that Greece needs fresh financing of up to €86bn over the next three years:

The statement floats the possibility of restructuring Greece’s debt pile, but this wouldn’t be considered straight away. Full haircuts on the face value of Greek bonds isn’t an option.

Here’s a video clip of the leaders arriving at today’s summit on Greece:

Martin Schultz has also stated firmly that “Greece and its people must not be humiliated.’’

And under questioning from journalists, he also agreed that foreign lenders were being “strict with Greece.”

Our Athens correspondent Helena Smith explored that point in today’s Observer, writing:

After seeing my adopted country in freefall, after watching friends fret at the prospect of overnight impoverishment and weep at the indignity of bank closures and capital controls, it is impossible not to ask whether all – or any – of this was necessary. Did Greece need to get to this place? Did the economy need to die before our eyes for the government to declare that “honourable compromise” had been reached? In recent weeks, the spectre of chaos has haunted Greece. As Tsipras has pondered, primitive instincts have not been far away.

For truth, five years on, has arrived in the form of a €13bn package of savings – the key to further financial assistance – that is so severe, so bitter-sweet in the wake of the hardship that this “war” has already caused, it is unclear what will follow......

Leaders are hard at work discussing Greece now, accompanied by some rather twee miniature flower arrangements:

Updated

European parliament president, Martin Schulz, is giving a press conference now, underlining the importance of a deal.

We are now at a crossroads, he warns.

There must be a decision tonight, and I hope it will be a positive decision.


Updated

Photos: Hugs as euro summit begins

Alexis Tsipras and Jean-Claude Juncker shared a friendly hug, as the start of today’s eurozone leaders summit. A sign of genuine progress?

Eurozone leaders’ meeting<br>epa04843966 (L-R) French President Francois Hollande, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras at the start of eurozone leaders’ summit on the Greek crisis at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 12 July 2015. Greece is teetering on the edge of default, cut off from bailout aid, in arrears to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), owing large debt repayments this month and fending off suggestions that it could soon exit the eurozone. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

Tsipras also spoke with other leaders.

He didn’t win a hug from Angela Merkel, but the two did speak, with François Hollande alongside.

(From L) German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras confer prior to the start of a summit of Eurozone heads of state in Brussels on July 12, 2015. The EU cancelled a full 28-nation summit to decide whether Greece stays in the European single currency as a divided eurozone struggled to reach a reform-for-bailout deal. AFP PHOTO / JOHN MACDOUGALLJOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images
German Chancellor Angela Merkel (2L), French President Francois Hollande (C), and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras (2R) confer prior to the start of a summit of Eurozone heads of state in Brussels on July 12, 2015. The EU cancelled a full 28-nation summit to decide whether Greece stays in the European single currency as a divided eurozone struggled to reach a reform-for-bailout deal. AFP PHOTO / JOHN MACDOUGALLJOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP/Getty Images

Belgian PM Charles Michel joined the group too:

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras talks with French President Francois Hollande and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel at the start of eurozone leaders’ summit on the Greek crisis at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 12 July 2015. Greece is teetering on the edge of default, cut off from bailout aid, in arrears to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), owing large debt repayments this month and fending off suggestions that it could soon exit the eurozone. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET

Updated

Austria’s finance minister has laid out the position – the Greek parliament must decide on Monday that it supports everything that is agreed today. Otherwise, no bailout.

Updated

The meeting has begun!

Matteo Renzi

Now Matteo Renzi arrives, and tells the media that it is vital to reach a deal, both for Greece and Europe (which faces other challenges too).

Dijsselbloem: We've come a long way

Jeroen Dijsselbloem, head of the Eurogroup, has been whisked from one meeting to the other.

Arriving at the summit, he says:

We have come a long way, solved a lot of issues, but some big issues still remain.

So we will brief the leaders and they can decide on those last issues, Dijsselbloem replies.

And then he vanishes into the Summit, closely followed by Mario Draghi - who gives the camera a winning smile but doesn’t stop to chat. Disappointing.

European Central Bank Governor Mario Draghi arrives for a meeting of eurozone heads of state at the EU Council building in Brussels on Sunday, July 12, 2015. Greece has another chance Sunday to convince skeptical European creditors that it can be trusted to enact wide-ranging economic reforms which would safeguard its future in the common euro currency. (AP Photo/Francois Walschaerts)

Updated

Eurogroup over, Euro summit start soon...

It’s official -- eurozone finance ministers have ended their meeting, passing the baton to the leaders at their summit.

And Finland’s Alexander Stubb has tweeted that progress has been made -- how much remains to be seen.

“Out”, you say, Alex?

Enda Kenny
Photograph: EbS

Ireland’s Enda Kenny says Greece needs to demonstrate their commitment to staying in the eurozone.

That means measures being taken in the Athens parliament this week, to show “intent and seriousness”.

We are quite willing to work towards a conclusion, so that talks can talk on a programme that can keep Greece in the eurozone, says Kenny, adding:

We don’t want to look back in 10 years time and think this could have been saved, but wasn’t.

Kenny has been Ireland’s leader since the early days of its bailout programme, which it exited 18 months ago, and that gives him insight into what Greece needs to do:

In Ireland’s case, trust was only built with the Troika through incremental analysis and payment when we had shown what we could do.

Updated

Joseph Muscat

Malta’s prime minister, Joseph Muscat, says that leaders will be discussing “all options” at today’s summit, not simply Plan B (ie, Grexit).

His first preference is that Greece should stay in the eurozone, but not at any cost. The starting point should be the assessment of the institutions.

And Muscat adds that:

There needs to be a realisation that what was enough 10 days ago might not be enough today, because the situation in Greece has deteriorated.

Updated

Europe’s future is at stake tonight, says European parliament president Martin Schulz as he arrives at the summit.

Juncker: I'll fight until the last millisecond

Jean-Claude Juncker

Now Jean-Claude Juncker, Commission president arrives. And he takes a question from the British press pack:

What is stopping a deal?

I’m entering the meeting now, Juncker replies (ie, ask me afterwards)

Are you hopeful?

I will fight until the very last millisecond for a deal, and I hope that we will have a deal.

Hollande: We'll do whatever it takes

Francois Hollande

Next in line is the French president’s limo.

Francois Hollande brings an uncompromising message to the Summit, underlining that France is Greece’s ally at this vital moment.

We will do everything in its power to find an agreement tonight, he declares. This isn’t just about Greece, this is about Europe.

Hollande also appears to ridicule the ‘temporary Grexit’ idea suggested by the German finance ministry in a paper that leaked yesterday.

The situation is clear - you’re in, or you’re out.

Updated

Merkel: Trust has been lost

Angela Merkel

Chancellor Merkel tells reporters that the most important currency, trust, has been lost.

And she warns that the eurogroup are unlikely to give a unanimous recommendation at their own meeting earlier today. An agreement won’t come at any price.....

And then she vanishes inside, without taking further questions.

A flurry of activity as Angela Merkel’s motorcade rolls up....

Slovenia’s prime minister says he’d rather avoid Grexit, but Athens must make firm commitments to get aid funds (reports Jennifer, who is tweeting from her second doorstep of the morning)

Dutch PM Mark Rutte has already perched on the hawkish territory, saying Greece won’t get any bailout cash unless they take “all measures” expected.

Tsipras: We owe it to the people of Europe to compromise

Alexis Tsipras

Alexis Tsipras has just arrived for tonight’s eurozone summit, and told reporters that an agreement could be within reach.

I am here ready for compromise, the Greek PM says.

We owe that to the people of Europe who want Europe united, and not divided.

We can reach an agreement tonight if all parties want it.

You can watch all the arrivals here.

Updated

Green Party MEP Ska Keller is alarmed by the eurogroup’s latest demands on Greece:

Eurogroup wants more measures from Greece

Greece will have to do even more, on top of the €13bn of austerity measures agreed last week, if it wants to get its third bailout.

Reuters has now got hold of the draft statement from today’s meeting. And it confirms what was suspected - Greece must “broaden its tax base”, make further reforms to its sales tax and pension systems, and boost its privatisation programme, among other measures.

And that means that there’s no chance of an agreement today, as fresh legislation would be needed.

As Reuters explains:

“The Eurogroup... came to the conclusion that there is not yet the basis to start the negotiations on a new programme,” the draft statement, seen by Reuters, said.

To begin such talks, the ministers would first want Greece to improve its VAT and pension systems, broaden its tax base to boost revenues and strengthen the independence of ELSTAT, the Greek statistics agency.

So, we could be looking at another week of drama:

But can Alexis Tsipras persuade his MPs to accept such a package, given the small rebellion on Friday night over its initial offer?

Rumours of white smoke soon from the Eurogroup.

Just as well, as eurozone leaders should be arriving soon for their summit (kick-off in 80 minutes).

Estonia’s PM has landed a little while ago.

Updated

Here’s how those pictures of ministers chatting at the Eurogroup are made.

Updated

Renzi: Unthinkable to humiliate Greece any more

We broke the news in last night’s liveblog that Matteo Renzi, Italy’s prime minister, was going to tell Germany that the humiliation of Greece must stop.

And now it’s happened.

Renzi told Italian newspaper Il Messaggero that:

“Now common sense must prevail and an agreement must be reached. Italy does not want Greece to exit the euro and to Germany I say: enough is enough.

Now that Tsipras has made proposals in line with the European demands, we must absolutely sign a deal. Humiliating a European partner after Greece has given up on just about everything is unthinkable.”

Renzi is going to make similar comments to Chancellor Merkel tonight.

Updated

EU official: Grexit not on the agenda tonight

A eurozone official has told reporters that leaders will NOT be planning for Grexit tonight.

Instead, they are hoping going to make progress on Plan A – a new bailout deal for Greece.

Associate Press has more details:

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, said eurozone leaders hope to issue a statement that would pave the way for the formal for the start of Greek bailout negotiations. The leaders are due to meet later.

That, the official added, would give the “green light” to the European Central Bank to turn up the emergency liquidity assistance it provides to Greek banks.

The usual proviso applies …

Updated

Look who has arrived in Brussels – it’s the interim leader of Greece’s largest opposition party, New Democracy.

Evangelos Meimarakis is meeting with fellow right-wing politicians at an event before the eurozone summit, so it’s all above board.

Updated

Leaked! Eurogroup draft statement pushing for more austerity

Reuters have got hold of the draft statement drawn up by eurozone officials last night.

It’s not the final agreement – more like the starting point for today’s meeting.

It shows that the eurozone has demanded even deeper measures from Athens, which Euclid Tsakalotos has apparently acceded to.

It includes getting Greece’s primary budget surplus up to a chunky 3.5% in 2018, rigorous labour market and pension reforms, a more solid privatisation programme with “improved governance” (does that mean external ‘assistance’?)

Here’s the list:

Eurogroup draft on demands for Greek reforms

And it says that “The Eurogroup thus welcomes the additional following commitments of the Greek authorities on the basis of a clear timetable”:

  • fully comply with the medium-term primary surplus target of 3.5 percent of GDP by 2018, according to a yearly schedule to be agreed with the institutions;
  • carry out ambitious pension reforms and specific policies to fully compensate for the fiscal impact of the Constitutional Court ruling on the 2012 pension reform and to implement the zero deficit clause;
  • adopt more ambitious product market reforms with a clear timetable for implementation of all OECD toolkit I recommendations, including Sunday trade, sales periods, over-the-counter pharmaceutical products, pharmacy ownership, milk, bakeries. On the follow-up of the OECD toolkit II, manufacturing needs to be included in the prior action;
  • on energy markets, the privatization of the electricity transmission network operator (ADMIE) must proceed, unless replacement measures can be found that have equivalent effect, as agreed by the institutions;
  • on labor markets, undertake rigorous reviews of collective bargaining, industrial action and collective dismissals in line with the timetable and the approach suggested by the institutions. Any changes should be based on international and European best practices, and should not involve a return to past policy settings which are not compatible with the goals of promoting sustainable and inclusive growth;
  • fully implement the relevant provisions of the Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union, in particular to make the Fiscal Council fully operational;
  • adopt the necessary steps to strengthen the financial sector, including decisive action on non-performing loans, transposition of BRRD and measures to strengthen governance of the HFSF and the banks;
  • develop a significantly scaled up privatization program with improved governance. A working group with the institutions shall provide proposals for better implementation mechanisms;
  • amend or compensate for legislation adopted during 2015 which have not been agreed with the institutions and run counter to the program commitments;
  • implement the key remaining elements from the December 2014 state of play of the fifth review of the second economic adjustment program.”

This is all in addition to the original plan, so tricky for Athens to commit to and achieve.

But Paul Mason, the Channel 4 journalist with close links to Syriza, reckons a deal is possible on these terms.

Updated

Readers who were in bed or out on the town last night will have missed the end of last night’s Eurogroup meeting, so here’s a video clip:

Updated

There’s a rumour that last night’s Eurogroup meeting turned nasty at one point, with Germany’s finance minister clashing with the head of the ECB:

Updated

Greece may not have a guardian angel watching over it, but it got the next best thing this morning - a flyover by the International Space Station.

Captain Scott Kelly, who is spending a year on the ISS, tweeted a picture of Athens and his best wishes.

Luxembourg’s warning to Germany that Grexit would trigger “deep conflict” in Europe has raised the stakes higher today.

But is that really Berlin’s plan? Bojan Pancevski of the Sunday Times reckons not.

Political tensions are already rising in Germany, over the “five-year temporary Grexit” proposed in a finance ministry report. The Green Party has dismissed it as both unacceptable and unconstitutional, according to Euractiv.

European Central Bank Governor Mario Draghi arriving at today’s meeting.
Mario Draghi arriving at today’s meeting. Photograph: AP

Writing before this weekend’s meetings, Philip Shaw, economist at Investec, went over what the week ahead holds for the ECB, particularly when president Mario Draghi holds his press conference after Thursday’s monetary policy meeting.

Shaw believes a potential Grexit will turn out to be a real test of what Draghi means by “whatever it takes”.

The absence of a deal would, in our view, begin the path to Grexit. In that case, the press conference will probably be dominated by the ECB’s role in handling the situation. On the ECB’s specific role in a Grexit scenario, Mr Draghi said this week that if no deal is struck this weekend, the ECB will not extend emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) for Greek banks.

That could trigger a banking collapse as soon as Monday. On Thursday, questions will be asked on the ECB’s next steps on intervention, including any role in transitioning to a separate currency.

Perhaps more significant will be comments Mr Draghi will no doubt make on how ECB policy can limit Grexit contagion to financial markets and eurozone economies more generally. We should expect reassurances on the extent of the policy firewall in place, including the OMT program, the EFSF and QE. On the latter, Mr Draghi pointed out that if circumstances allow, the Governing Council would “reconsider the size, the timing, the design of the [QE] programme”.

Contagion seems limited so far – for example, alongside encouraging eurozone-wide indicators, peripheral bond yields have not blown out (Spanish and Italian 10-year sovereign bond yields are both at 2.2%). But a Grexit could make things worse, posing a true test of whether the ECB is willing to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro”

Updated

Luxembourg warns Germany: Grexit must be prevented

Ministers of Internal Security and of Migration meeting in Luxembourg<br>epa04839340 Luxembourg Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn and The Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos (not in picture) hold a joint press conference during the EU Informal meeting of Internal Security and of Migration Ministers at the European Convention Center Luxembourg in Luxembourg, 9 july 2015. The meeting takes place in Luxembourg during the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the European Union. EPA/MATHIEU CUGNOT
Jean Asselborn. Photograph: Mathieu Cugnot/EPA

Jean Asselborn, the Luxembourg foreign minister, has declared that “Grexit has to be prevented, warning that:

“It would be fateful for Germany’s reputation in the EU and the world.

“Germany’s responsibility is great. It’s about not conjuring up the ghosts of the past,” Asselborn told Munich’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

And he warned that the crisis could send a schism through the heart of Europe.

“If Germany goes for Grexit, it will trigger a deep conflict with France. That would be a catastrophe for Europe.”

Updated

Europe's stock markets on track for Monday selloff

European stock markets are going to fall sharply when trading begins on Monday, unless there is serious progress today.

The German DAX, which jumped 319 points on Friday after Greece announced its proposals, is going to hand around 200 points back, according to the futures markets.

IG’s Chris Beauchamp explains:

Like a dysfunctional family, the cracks in European unity are coming to the surface, and not just between the Greeks and the rest.

If no deal is done by tonight, the market reaction will be severe, although should things look to be turning too unpleasant there is always the prospect that the ECB will step in with some emergency action to stabilise matters.

Updated

A few more photos from this morning’s meeting:

Eurogroup Finance ministers meeting<br>epa04843544 Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos (L) and European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici talk at the start of a special Eurogroup finance ministers meeting on the Greek crisis, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 12 July 2015. Eurozone Finance Ministers set 12 July 2015 as the deadline to reach an agreement saving Greece from bankruptcy, amid warnings that failure to strike a deal by then could lead the country to crash out of the eurozone. EPA/LAURENT DUBRULE
Euclid Tsakalotos shared a moment with commissioner Pierre Moscovici. Photograph: Laurent Dubrule/EPA
Eurogroup Finance ministers meeting<br>epa04843530 Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem (L) and Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb talk at the start of a special Eurogroup finance ministers meeting on the Greek crisis, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 12 July 2015. Eurozone Finance Ministers set 12 July 2015 as the deadline to reach an agreement saving Greece from bankruptcy, amid warnings that failure to strike a deal by then could lead the country to crash out of the eurozone. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
Here’s Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem chatting with Alex Stubb … Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA
Dutch finance minister, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, centre, speaks with his Slovakian counterpart, Peter Kazimir, left, during a round table meeting of Eurogroup finance ministers at the EU Lex building in Brussels on Sunday, July 12, 2015. Greece has another chance Sunday to convince skeptical European creditors that it can be trusted to enact wide-ranging economic reforms which would safeguard its future in the common euro currency. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
... and Slovakia’s Peter Kazimir (left). Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

Updated

Today’s meeting of euro leaders could last a long time..... (reminder, it starts at 4pm Brussels time)

Looks like Euclid Tsakalotos and Christine Lagarde had a good chat before the Eurogroup meeting began:

Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos. center right, speaks with Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde, center left, during a round table meeting of eurogroup finance ministers at the EU Lex building in Brussels on Sunday, July 12, 2015. Greece has another chance Sunday to convince skeptical European creditors that it can be trusted to enact wide-ranging economic reforms which would safeguard its future in the common euro currency. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, right, speaks with Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde during a round table meeting of eurogroup finance ministers at the EU Lex building in Brussels on Sunday, July 12, 2015. Greece has another chance Sunday to convince skeptical European creditors that it can be trusted to enact wide-ranging economic reforms which would safeguard its future in the common euro currency. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Updated

Photos: Eurogroup gets underway

Photos from today’s eurogroup meeting are just arriving, so I’ll put the best in the blog now:

Eurogroup Finance ministers meeting<br>epa04843522 International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde (L) and Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos talk at the start of a special Eurogroup finance ministers meeting on the Greek crisis, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 12 July 2015. Eurozone Finance Ministers set 12 July 2015 as the deadline to reach an agreement saving Greece from bankruptcy, amid warnings that failure to strike a deal by then could lead the country to crash out of the eurozone. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
IMF chief Christine Lagarde chatting with Euclid Tsakalotos. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA
Eurogroup Finance ministers meeting<br>epa04843524 Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos (L) and Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb talk at the start of a special Eurogroup finance ministers meeting on the Greek crisis, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 12 July 2015. Eurozone Finance Ministers set 12 July 2015 as the deadline to reach an agreement saving Greece from bankruptcy, amid warnings that failure to strike a deal by then could lead the country to crash out of the eurozone. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
The award for awkward conversation of the morning is shared between Tsakalotos and Alex Stubb. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA
Eurogroup Finance ministers meeting<br>epa04843519 German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble (R) and French Finance Minister Michel Sapin talk at the start of a special Eurogroup finance ministers meeting on the Greek crisis, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 12 July 2015. Eurozone Finance Ministers set 12 July 2015 as the deadline to reach an agreement saving Greece from bankruptcy, amid warnings that failure to strike a deal by then could lead the country to crash out of the eurozone. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
Is Wolfgang Schäuble telling Michel Sapin how the idea of a ‘temporary Grexit’ suddenly came to him? Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA

More to follow, with any luck....

Updated

So what happens now?

Newsnight’s Duncan Weldon reckons Greece is going to be presented with a very tough package of reforms in return for a three-year aid programme.

But AFP’s Danny Kemp points out that the two sides are far, far apart:

The eurogroup meeting of finance ministers has now begun.

Stubb: No one is blocking a deal

Finland’s finance minister, Alex Stubb, has also denied that some Eurogroup members (such as the Finns) are trying to thwart a bailout agreement:

Reuters has Stubb’s full comments as he arrive:

No one is blocking a deal, we are all constructively trying to find a solution in a very difficult situation. What we are saying is that the conditionality that has been presented by the Greeks are simply not enough at this stage.”

“We need to have clear commitments, clear conditionality and clear proof that those conditions will be implemented at the end of the day. I am still hopeful but I think we are very far away from the type of conditionality we need.”

Last night, the Finnish news channels were buzzing with reports that Finland wouldn’t support a Greek bailout, for fear that the eurosceptic True Finns party would revolt and bring down the two-month-old coalition government.

The Finnish prime minister has declared that the government is united on the issue.

Updated

If trust is an issue with Greece, what is the point in demanding tougher and tougher measures that it will struggle to implement?

I’m paraphrasing, but that’s basically the message from Malta’s finance minister, Edward Scicluna, as he arrived at the eurogroup meeting:

Austria’s finance minister, Hans Jörg Schelling, denied that ministers considered Greece’s exit from the eurozone yesterday.

The problem, he adds, is getting commitments that Greece will actually implement the measures it is promising.

“We didn’t talk about Grexit. As I said yesterday, we have to made adjustments and guarantees for the implementation.

With the adjustments we have made a step forward but not with the guarantees.”

Dombrovskis: Agreement 'utterly unlikely' today

Vladis Dombrovskis, EC vice-president, suggests some progress could be made this morning - but an actual deal is far, far away.

He told reporters:

“Discussions were quite complicated so we hope for more progress today. I think it’s utterly unlikely the European Commission will get a mandate to start formal negotiations as regards a third programme or ESM programme today.

But I think the Eurogroup can prepare and provide input for discussions of the leaders later today.”

(thanks to Reuters for the quote)

Luxembourg’s finance minister, Pierre Gramegna, also sounded gloomy as he arrived:

Pierre Moscovici, the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, insists that Greece can obtain a third bailout and remain in the euro.

But it must agree deep reforms, and implement them too.

Updated

Greece’s new finance minister was brief and to the point as he arrived:

Slovakia: Not possible to reach a deal today

Peter Kažimír, Slovakia’s finance minister, has ruled out a Greek deal today.

It’s just not possible, he says, citing the “breach of trust” between the eurozone and the Greek government.

But he also suggests that “front-loading” Greece’s reform package could help rebuild trust. That means enforcing more austerity quickly:

Updated

Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb arrives for the start of a special Eurogroup Finance ministers meeting, on the Greek crisis, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 12 July 2015. Eurozone Finance Ministers set 12 July 2015 as the deadline to reach an agreement saving Greece from bankruptcy, amid warnings that failure to strike a deal by then could lead the country to crash out of the eurozone. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb this morning. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA

The weather in Brussels matches the mood - it’s grey, dreary and generally depressing.

From beneath his umbrella, Finland’s Alex Stubb told reporters that a few steps were taken last night, but much more needs to be done.

Updated

Italy blames lack of trust

My colleague Jennifer Rankin is back outside the Eurogroup meeting, as ministers arrive.

Pier Carlo Padoan, Italy’s finance minister, has blamed the ‘lack of trust’ with Greece, she reports.

He’d like to see Athens rebuilt it, by taking measures in the Greek parliament this week.

Tusk cancels EUCO summit

European Council president Donald Tusk has cancelled tonight’s meeting of all 28 EU heads of state and government.

That meeting was meant to be THE decisive event, where leaders could potentially have planned for Greece’s exit from the single currency.

However, eurozone leaders will still meet, from 3pm BST (5pm if you’re in Greece).

It underlines just how bad yesterday’s Eurogroup meeting was.

Updated

Introduction: Finance ministers resume talks over Greece

Eurogroup Finance ministers meeting<br>epa04843455 Greek Finance Minister, Euclid Tsakalotos arrives for the start of a special Eurogroup Finance Ministers meeting, on the Greek crisis, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, 12 July 2015. Eurozone Finance Ministers set 12 July 2015 as the deadline to reach an agreement saving Greece from bankruptcy, amid warnings that failure to strike a deal by then could lead the country to crash out of the eurozone. EPA/OLIVIER HOSLET
Greek Finance Minister, Euclid Tsakalotos arriving at today’s special Eurogroup Finance Ministers meeting on Greece. Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA

Good morning.

The eurozone is resuming its efforts to find a solution to the intractable Greek debt crisis, but hopes of a breakthrough today are already fading, fast.

Over in Brussels, finance ministers are gathering to restart the meeting which broke up late last night amid deadlock, with euro members pushing Greece to offer more concessions.

But the crisis runs deeper than that. Finland is refusing to back a third bailout, with eurosceptic coalition members threatening to bring the government down.

And Germany has drawn up a paper suggesting Greece should temporarily leave the eurozone. It doesn’t exactly dispel the idea that Berlin is pushing for Grexit.

Eurozone leaders are due to meet later today. Perhaps a political solution can be found to break the deadlock? But in truth, Europe looks more battered and divided than at any time in this debt crisis.

As our Europe editor, Ian Traynor, reported last night:

Saturday night’s talks were not to agree on a third bailout, but were negotiations on whether to launch more talks on Greece’s third rescue package in five years. The ministers faced formidable problems, said Schäuble, who argued debt relief for Greece, broadly seen as essential, was banned by the EU treaties: “Athens’s proposals are far from sufficient. The funding gaps are way beyond anything we’ve seen so far,” he said.

The hard line was echoed by Peter Kazimir, finance minister of Slovakia, who said that new austerity measures tabled by Athens were already past their sell-by date.

The eurozone has been united for five months in the negotiations with Tsipras, but with the stakes rising greatly in the last 10 days, major divisions have surfaced, with the French working tirelessly to save Greece and the hardliners now pushing Greece’s expulsion for the first time openly.

We’ll be tracking all the main events through the day.....

Updated

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