Category: Greece

Photo Pensioners wait outside of a National Bank of Greece branch in Athens on Thursday. Credit Yannis Kolesidis/European Pressphoto Agency ATHENS — Only a day after grim predictions of financial and social collapse in Greece , a scramble appeared underway to work out the details of a new bailout package to bring the country back from the brink of falling out of the euro. As details of the new offer emerged, it appeared that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was capitulating to demands on harsh austerity terms that he urged his countrymen to reject in the referendum last Sunday, like tax increases and various measures to cut the costs of pensions. But Mr. Tsipras sought a three-year bailout loan totaling 53.5 billion euros (about $59 billion) and asked creditors to commit to discussing restructuring the nation’s massive debt. The amount was more than it would have been without a nationwide […]

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A vendor waits for customers outside his shop in central Athens on Friday. BRUSSELS—Greece’s creditor institutions could make an assessment on the country’s eligibility for new bailout on Friday, a eurozone official said, as a deadline to avoid a possible Greek financial meltdown draws near. The institutions that have been overseeing Greece’s bailouts—the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund—may come out Friday with their assessment of Greece’s request for help from the eurozone’s rescue fund, said a spokesman for the chairman of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers. That assessment will also take into account the latest overhaul proposals from Greece, the spokesman added. The institutions’ assessment still needs to be discussed and approved by eurozone finance ministers, who may push for tougher criteria to avoid having to take aggressive action of reducing Greece’s debt. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who presides over meetings of eurozone finance […]

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The European Union’s chairman joined growing international calls for Greece to be granted debt restructuring as part of any new loan deal if it delivers convincing reforms to avert imminent bankruptcy. The call was an implicit challenge to Germany, Athens’ biggest creditor, which has so far ruled out any write-offs as illegal and taken a restrictive view of reprofiling the debt to help Greece over a major repayment hump this year. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was finalizing a tough package of tax hikes and pension reforms to send to euro zone authorities by midnight in a race to secure agreement at the weekend on a third financial rescue for his country. European Council President Donald Tusk, who is to chair a special euro group summit on Sunday that will decide Greece’s fate, hoped the plans would be concrete and realistic. "The realistic proposal from Greece will have to […]

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BRUSSELS Euro zone members have given Greece until the end of the week to come up with a proposal for sweeping reforms in return for loans that will keep the country from crashing out of Europe’s currency bloc and into economic ruin. "The stark reality is that we have only five days left … Until now I have avoided talking about deadlines, but tonight I have to say loud and clear that the final deadline ends this week," European Council President Donald Tusk told a news conference. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has until Friday to present the proposal, but German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she hoped to have convincing reform commitments from Tsipras on Thursday so she could ask the German parliament to authorize negotiations on a new aid program. Merkel said she was "not exaggeratedly optimistic" for a solution. At an emergency summit in Brussels on Tuesday, representatives […]

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BRUSSELS—Greece took a first step toward addressing demands that eurozone leaders say it must meet to stay in the euro, as pressure grew on both sides to reach a deal and avert the country’s imminent financial meltdown. The government in Athens formally asked for a three-year bailout from the eurozone’s rescue fund on Wednesday and pledged to start implementing some economic-policy overhauls by early next week, according to a copy of the request seen by The Wall Street Journal. But whether European leaders accept the application for more emergency loans at a crisis summit on Sunday still depends on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras making a drastic turnaround on pension cuts, tax increases and other austerity measures after five months of often-acrimonious negotiations. Eurozone officials expect the request for more aid to be followed up by a full list of detailed policy overhauls and budget cuts that go beyond those […]

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People in Athens line up on Wednesday to withdraw money from an ATM cash dispenser. Greece requested a new three-year bailout from its skeptical eurozone creditors and pledged some economic overhauls on Wednesday, but the euphoria some Greeks felt after Sunday’s “no” vote on the last deal was fading fast. Whether European leaders accept the Greek government’s application for more emergency loans at a crisis summit Sunday still depends on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras making a drastic turnaround on pension cuts, tax increases and other austerity measures after five months of often-acrimonious negotiations. “The actual examination can only begin once the full package has been put on the table,” said a spokesman for German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, who has pushed a hard line on Greece and made clear that Germany is prepared for a potential Greek exit from the eurozone. His comments echo those of German Chancellor Angela […]

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ATHENS — Greece , running out of money and under a tight deadline from European leaders, requested a three-year loan on Wednesday from the eurozone’s bailout fund as the country and its creditors began what could be a last effort to avert a historic rupture. But in making a formal request for new aid that it needs to avoid further defaults on its debts, Greece did not provide any details of what it would do in return to show that it is serious about strengthening the government’s finances, other than alluding generally to a willingness to make quick changes to its tax and pension systems. The government said it would provide those specifics on Thursday. Nor did it publicly describe the size of the loan it sought. Some economists estimate that Greece will need 50 billion euros (about $55 billion), or possibly more. Eurozone leaders rebuked the Greek prime […]

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Greek banks remain shut, with controls on cash machine withdrawals The eurozone has given Greece until Thursday to present new proposals to secure a deal with creditors, and has called a full EU summit for Sunday. The moves came after an emergency eurozone leaders’ summit in Brussels. The eurozone had asked Greece to submit fresh plans after its voters rejected a draft bailout in a referendum. But Greece brought no written plans, suggesting instead a few changes to an earlier draft, which would respect "the mandate of the referendum". On Sunday a meeting of all 28 members of the European Union will be held. European Council President Donald Tusk said that this was perhaps the "most critical moment in the history of the eurozone". "The final deadline ends this week," he said. Mr Tusk said a Greek bankruptcy and the collapse of the Greek banking system would affect the […]

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Photo Greeks caught up with the news in Athens on Tuesday, ahead of an emergency summit meeting of European leaders. Credit Aris Messinis/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images BRUSSELS — Greece’s prospects for staying in Europe’s currency union darkened on Tuesday after the new Greek finance minister showed up for an emergency meeting in Brussels without a specific new proposal, leaving European finance ministers aghast and unable to judge whether a deal for another bailout package was possible. Greece’s failure to present a detailed plan turned what had been billed as a last-chance opportunity for Greece into yet another display of the substantive and stylistic gulf between the left-wing government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his country’s big creditors, starting with Germany. The new finance minister, Euclid Tsakalotos , signaled that Greece would put a plan forward as soon as Tuesday night, and a government official said later that […]

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ATHENS—Many Greeks went to bed Sunday night jubilant after the runaway success of a referendum urging the government to push back in negotiations with its eurozone creditors. On Monday, they woke up to the start of a second week of restrictions on money transfers and lines outside ATMs. The capital controls, which limit withdrawals to €60 ($66) a day and forbid electronic transfers outside of Greece, are fast choking the economy. The head of the country’s banking association said banks would remain closed through Wednesday; few expect them to open soon after that. The European Central Bank tightened the screws Monday, demanding that Greek banks put up more assets as collateral to secure the emergency lending that is keeping them alive, if not fully functioning. The move doesn’t directly affect the amount of emergency loans they receive. It is unclear when they might run out of cash. There are […]

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