Angela Merkel and François Hollande in Berlin today.
Photograph: NurPhoto/REX Shutterstock/NurPhoto/REX Shutterstock
Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande, Mario Draghi, Christine Lagarde and Jean-Claude Juncker are gathered in Berlin to discuss whether to make Greece a new offer.........
- TONIGHT: Unexpected meeting in Berlin <- new readers start here
- Plan is to ‘reach a joint position’ on Greece
- Greek mini-cabinet also in session
- Die Welt: Greece might compromise on pensions
- Lunchtime Summary: Goldman fears default
The latest word from Berlin is that creditors don’t plan to hit Greece with a ‘final ultimatum’, but will craft the outlines of a deal.
Whether Athens sees it the same way is another matter.....
— Joseph Cotterill (@jsphctrl) June 1, 2015
Or in other words, something for Tsipras to then call an ultimatum. (via http://t.co/jEObfJ1aQZ) pic.twitter.com/B5OEXjksjP
Facebook Twitter Google plus
11.04pm 23:04
The FT’s Peter Spiegel reports that the Berlin meeting includes paperwork showing where compromises might be made:
— Peter Spiegel (@SpiegelPeter) June 1, 2015
Berlin summiteers working frm paper prepared by @EU_Commission to find trade-offs acceptable to all #Greece creditors http://t.co/9lt781AwoE
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.57pm 22:57
Ian Traynor: Merkel is trying to defuse the crisis
Ian Traynor
This meeting in Berlin was meant to be focused on the worthy topic of boosting Europe’s economy through more investment.
But it’s turned into so much more, once Christine Lagarde and Mario Draghi arrived unexpectedly to discuss the Greek crisis.
Our Europe editor, Ian Traynor, reports:
The German chancellor Angela Merkel moved to try to defuse Greece’s financial and European crisis late on Monday, converting a routine long-scheduled meeting with French and EU leaders into a mini-summit on Greece that was said to be preparing a final response to Athens’ intractable debt dilemmas.
Merkel met France’s president François Hollande and the president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, for what was billed as a session on how to boost investment in the EU. But they were joined by Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, and Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, in what turned into a late-night session on Greece.
Athens is facing insolvency and payments of €1.6bn (£1.1bn) to the IMF within the next few weeks, with the first payment of €305m due by Friday. Now it appears that the Greek drama is shifting up a gear, heading for its denouement, after five months of negotiations between the Greeks and its eurozone/IMF creditors going nowhere.
Merkel’s staff let it be known that the chancellor wanted the mini-summit in Berlin to deliver a “final offer” to Athens, German public television reported. “The creditors want to agree a common position tonight,” ZDF television said. Merkel wanted the deal sealed before a meeting this weekend in Germany of the G7 countries. Whether the terms of the proposed resolution represented an ultimatum to Greece was unclear.
Merkel calls in Draghi and Lagarde for Greek debt talks
Updated at 11.02pm BST
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.47pm 22:47
Tonight’s emergency meeting shows that Greece’s creditors are losing patience, after months of crunch meetings, tough negotiations and scarce progress:
So says the WSJ tonight, which adds:
Officials from European institutions and the International Monetary Fund sent a draft text on the economic overhauls that Greece needs to implement to unlock bailout financing to a meeting in Berlin of key European leaders, according to people familiar with the matter.
— Nick Malkoutzis (@NickMalkoutzis) June 1, 2015
Creditors Prepare ‘Final’ Text of Greek Bailout Deal - @MMQWalker & @v_dendrinou report on what's happening in Berlin http://t.co/CTj3aQ8MXh
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.39pm 22:39
Greece turns to Berlin to learn its fate
Helena Smith
Over in Athens, everyone is watching and waiting to see how this gripping crisis develops.
Helena Smith our correspondent reports:
Excluded from talks that he had wanted to attend, the Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has been relegated to the sidelines tonight - forced by circumstance into the role of spectator at what may well be the make-or-break meeting that decides the fate of his debt-stricken country.
Earlier on Monday a finance ministry official had told me:
“We are on the brink. We know something is going to happen, we just don’t know what.”
This, it seems, is it. Going into a mini meeting of senior cabinet officials held at the prime minister’s office tonight, the man heading Greece’s negotiation team, deputy foreign minister, Euclid Tsakalotos told reporters:
“People don’t have to be worried.”
No statements were made when the meeting ended an hour ago. The leftist-led government is desperate to douse any concerns over a run on banks. The ancient Parthenon temple today. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters
Describing tonight’s Berlin talks, the daily newspaper Ethnos said it was likely that the Greek prime minister would be presented with a proposal offering the only “realistic solution” to avert bankruptcy and remain in the euro zone.
The solution was likely to be presented in the form of an ultimatum, the newspaper said.
However, sources are suggesting that they do not expect a statement to be made by Greece’s creditors until Tuesday. This may, of course, be wishful thinking....
Updated at 10.49pm BST
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.31pm 22:31
The Financial Times has just published a handy explanation of the differences that have emerged between Greece’s creditors in recent weeks, prompting tonight’s emergency mini-summit.
The IMF has been holding to a tough line, out of respect for its own lending rules and regard for pressure from countries in other parts of the world, which say Athens has already enjoyed very favourable treatment.
The European Commission has argued for more generous terms for Athens because it sets a high priority on keeping the eurozone intact — a key symbol of EU unity.
The ECB, too, wants to keep the common currency together but is also afraid of damaging its credibility by overextending its role as a central bank.
. And if Angela Merkel, Europe’s most powerful politician, decides that Greece needs more financial aid, that cash would probably come from the eurozone not the IMF, the FT adds.
— FT Economics (@fteconomics) June 1, 2015
Greek bailout monitors hold emergency summit http://t.co/suWUwsiUME
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.17pm 22:17
— Ian Traynor (@traynorbrussels) June 1, 2015
#grexit berlin mini-summit kicked off 2130. 'endgame begins' says @welt, quotes german sources.'the aim is to make the greeks a final offer'
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.16pm 22:16
Tonight’s meeting on Greece is now well underway, between Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande, Jean-Claude Juncker, Mario Draghi and Christine Lagarde.
One official told Reuters that:
“They will discuss how to proceed and and whether they should make a new offer for an agreement to (Greek Prime Minister Alexis) Tsipras.”
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.08pm 22:08
Tonight’s meeting in Berlin is missing one crucial actor - Alexis Tsipras himself, the left-wing leader who swept to power in January on a promise to end austerity and break away from the last five years.
Tsipras had hoped to reach a political agreement over Greece, but tonight’s meeting suggests he’s going to get an ultimatum from creditors.
And that might not be compatible with his own political mandate, so whatever emerges from Berlin probably won’t be the end of this story.
— Megan Greene (@economistmeg) June 1, 2015
Tsipras not invited to the party in Berlin. He will be handed a take it or leave it when he does finally sit down with Greece's creditors.
— helena chari (@helena_chari) June 1, 2015
People actually voted for Syriza expecting minimum wages to go up, taxes to go down, to be hired in the public sector & the end of austerity
Updated at 10.08pm BST
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.00pm 22:00
It’s now midnight in Athens, but prime minister Tsipras and his top team are going nowhere yet -- they’re watching events in Berlin like the rest of us
— Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) June 1, 2015
#Greece cabinet mtng over. Tsipras in continuous mtng w Varoufakis, Alt FM Tsakalòtos & StateMin Pappàs, monitoring developments in Berlin
Facebook Twitter Google plus
9.52pm 21:52
Here’s another photo of “Super Mario” Draghi being whisked into tonight’s meeting in Berlin:
— Patrick Donahue (@patrickjdo) June 1, 2015
#Draghi pulling into the Chancellery in Berlin for talks w #Merkel #Hollande #Lagarde & #Juncker on #Greece #IMF #ECB pic.twitter.com/WN8dlYg7az
With thanks to Patrick Donahue, Bloomberg’s political correspondent in Berlin.
Facebook Twitter Google plus
9.48pm 21:48
It’s looking like quite a night....
— Stefan Leifert (@StefanLeifert) June 1, 2015
Greece: Final countdown has begun. In Berlin, now, meeting of IMF, ECB, EUCOM, GER and FRA. Aim is to agree on a final offer to Tsipras.
Facebook Twitter Google plus
9.45pm 21:45
— Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) June 1, 2015
#IMF confirms Ms Lagarde is in Berlin to consult on #Greece. /via @mignatiou
Facebook Twitter Google plus
9.44pm 21:44
And here’s the German chancellery tonight, where the heads of the EC, the ECB, the IMF, Germany and France are trying to devise an offer to Greece to keep it in the euro and calm the crisis.
Whether Athens sees it the same way is another matter.....
— Joseph Cotterill (@jsphctrl) June 1, 2015
Or in other words, something for Tsipras to then call an ultimatum. (via http://t.co/jEObfJ1aQZ) pic.twitter.com/B5OEXjksjP
Facebook Twitter Google plus
11.04pm 23:04
The FT’s Peter Spiegel reports that the Berlin meeting includes paperwork showing where compromises might be made:
— Peter Spiegel (@SpiegelPeter) June 1, 2015
Berlin summiteers working frm paper prepared by @EU_Commission to find trade-offs acceptable to all #Greece creditors http://t.co/9lt781AwoE
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.57pm 22:57
Ian Traynor: Merkel is trying to defuse the crisis
Ian Traynor
This meeting in Berlin was meant to be focused on the worthy topic of boosting Europe’s economy through more investment.
But it’s turned into so much more, once Christine Lagarde and Mario Draghi arrived unexpectedly to discuss the Greek crisis.
Our Europe editor, Ian Traynor, reports:
The German chancellor Angela Merkel moved to try to defuse Greece’s financial and European crisis late on Monday, converting a routine long-scheduled meeting with French and EU leaders into a mini-summit on Greece that was said to be preparing a final response to Athens’ intractable debt dilemmas.
Merkel met France’s president François Hollande and the president of the European commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, for what was billed as a session on how to boost investment in the EU. But they were joined by Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, and Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, in what turned into a late-night session on Greece.
Athens is facing insolvency and payments of €1.6bn (£1.1bn) to the IMF within the next few weeks, with the first payment of €305m due by Friday. Now it appears that the Greek drama is shifting up a gear, heading for its denouement, after five months of negotiations between the Greeks and its eurozone/IMF creditors going nowhere.
Merkel’s staff let it be known that the chancellor wanted the mini-summit in Berlin to deliver a “final offer” to Athens, German public television reported. “The creditors want to agree a common position tonight,” ZDF television said. Merkel wanted the deal sealed before a meeting this weekend in Germany of the G7 countries. Whether the terms of the proposed resolution represented an ultimatum to Greece was unclear.
Merkel calls in Draghi and Lagarde for Greek debt talks
Updated at 11.02pm BST
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.47pm 22:47
Tonight’s emergency meeting shows that Greece’s creditors are losing patience, after months of crunch meetings, tough negotiations and scarce progress:
So says the WSJ tonight, which adds:
Officials from European institutions and the International Monetary Fund sent a draft text on the economic overhauls that Greece needs to implement to unlock bailout financing to a meeting in Berlin of key European leaders, according to people familiar with the matter.
— Nick Malkoutzis (@NickMalkoutzis) June 1, 2015
Creditors Prepare ‘Final’ Text of Greek Bailout Deal - @MMQWalker & @v_dendrinou report on what's happening in Berlin http://t.co/CTj3aQ8MXh
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.39pm 22:39
Greece turns to Berlin to learn its fate
Helena Smith
Over in Athens, everyone is watching and waiting to see how this gripping crisis develops.
Helena Smith our correspondent reports:
Excluded from talks that he had wanted to attend, the Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras has been relegated to the sidelines tonight - forced by circumstance into the role of spectator at what may well be the make-or-break meeting that decides the fate of his debt-stricken country.
Earlier on Monday a finance ministry official had told me:
“We are on the brink. We know something is going to happen, we just don’t know what.”
This, it seems, is it. Going into a mini meeting of senior cabinet officials held at the prime minister’s office tonight, the man heading Greece’s negotiation team, deputy foreign minister, Euclid Tsakalotos told reporters:
“People don’t have to be worried.”
No statements were made when the meeting ended an hour ago. The leftist-led government is desperate to douse any concerns over a run on banks. The ancient Parthenon temple today. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters
Describing tonight’s Berlin talks, the daily newspaper Ethnos said it was likely that the Greek prime minister would be presented with a proposal offering the only “realistic solution” to avert bankruptcy and remain in the euro zone.
The solution was likely to be presented in the form of an ultimatum, the newspaper said.
However, sources are suggesting that they do not expect a statement to be made by Greece’s creditors until Tuesday. This may, of course, be wishful thinking....
Updated at 10.49pm BST
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.31pm 22:31
The Financial Times has just published a handy explanation of the differences that have emerged between Greece’s creditors in recent weeks, prompting tonight’s emergency mini-summit.
The IMF has been holding to a tough line, out of respect for its own lending rules and regard for pressure from countries in other parts of the world, which say Athens has already enjoyed very favourable treatment.
The European Commission has argued for more generous terms for Athens because it sets a high priority on keeping the eurozone intact — a key symbol of EU unity.
The ECB, too, wants to keep the common currency together but is also afraid of damaging its credibility by overextending its role as a central bank.
. And if Angela Merkel, Europe’s most powerful politician, decides that Greece needs more financial aid, that cash would probably come from the eurozone not the IMF, the FT adds.
— FT Economics (@fteconomics) June 1, 2015
Greek bailout monitors hold emergency summit http://t.co/suWUwsiUME
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.17pm 22:17
— Ian Traynor (@traynorbrussels) June 1, 2015
#grexit berlin mini-summit kicked off 2130. 'endgame begins' says @welt, quotes german sources.'the aim is to make the greeks a final offer'
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.16pm 22:16
Tonight’s meeting on Greece is now well underway, between Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande, Jean-Claude Juncker, Mario Draghi and Christine Lagarde.
One official told Reuters that:
“They will discuss how to proceed and and whether they should make a new offer for an agreement to (Greek Prime Minister Alexis) Tsipras.”
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.08pm 22:08
Tonight’s meeting in Berlin is missing one crucial actor - Alexis Tsipras himself, the left-wing leader who swept to power in January on a promise to end austerity and break away from the last five years.
Tsipras had hoped to reach a political agreement over Greece, but tonight’s meeting suggests he’s going to get an ultimatum from creditors.
And that might not be compatible with his own political mandate, so whatever emerges from Berlin probably won’t be the end of this story.
— Megan Greene (@economistmeg) June 1, 2015
Tsipras not invited to the party in Berlin. He will be handed a take it or leave it when he does finally sit down with Greece's creditors.
— helena chari (@helena_chari) June 1, 2015
People actually voted for Syriza expecting minimum wages to go up, taxes to go down, to be hired in the public sector & the end of austerity
Updated at 10.08pm BST
Facebook Twitter Google plus
10.00pm 22:00
It’s now midnight in Athens, but prime minister Tsipras and his top team are going nowhere yet -- they’re watching events in Berlin like the rest of us
— Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) June 1, 2015
#Greece cabinet mtng over. Tsipras in continuous mtng w Varoufakis, Alt FM Tsakalòtos & StateMin Pappàs, monitoring developments in Berlin
Facebook Twitter Google plus
9.52pm 21:52
Here’s another photo of “Super Mario” Draghi being whisked into tonight’s meeting in Berlin:
— Patrick Donahue (@patrickjdo) June 1, 2015
#Draghi pulling into the Chancellery in Berlin for talks w #Merkel #Hollande #Lagarde & #Juncker on #Greece #IMF #ECB pic.twitter.com/WN8dlYg7az
With thanks to Patrick Donahue, Bloomberg’s political correspondent in Berlin.
Facebook Twitter Google plus
9.48pm 21:48
It’s looking like quite a night....
— Stefan Leifert (@StefanLeifert) June 1, 2015
Greece: Final countdown has begun. In Berlin, now, meeting of IMF, ECB, EUCOM, GER and FRA. Aim is to agree on a final offer to Tsipras.
Facebook Twitter Google plus
9.45pm 21:45
— Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) June 1, 2015
#IMF confirms Ms Lagarde is in Berlin to consult on #Greece. /via @mignatiou
Facebook Twitter Google plus
9.44pm 21:44
And here’s the German chancellery tonight, where the heads of the EC, the ECB, the IMF, Germany and France are trying to devise an offer to Greece to keep it in the euro and calm the crisis.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/uk
