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Eurozone to hold emergency meeting on Greece debt

Friday, 19 June 2015 8:07 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 19 June 2015 10:26 AM ]

President of the European Union Council Donald Tusk addresses a press conference at the end of a summit on June 11, 2015 at the European Union headquarters in Brussels. (AFP photo)

President of the European Union Council, Donald Tusk, has called on eurozone leaders to attend an emergency meeting over the Greek debt crisis.

The eurozone’s 19 leaders have been summoned to attend an emergency meeting in Brussels next week, after a summit in Luxembourg ended without a deal on its debt payment on Thursday.

Tusk, who chairs meetings between European leaders, said they needed to “urgently discuss the situation of Greece at the highest political level."

Greece has been locked in negotiations over a deal with its international creditor - the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB), and the European Commission (EC) - who have refused to release the last tranche of its bailout, which is worth €7.2 billion ($8.1 billion).

Meanwhile, IMF director Christine Lagarde has voiced concern about the lack of progress over the past five months of talks.

"The key emergency, in my view, is to restore a dialogue with adults in the room," Lagarde said.

The AFP photo shows International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde in a press conference at the end of a eurozone finance ministers meeting in Luxembourg on June 18, 2015.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has also said that a serious “lack of trust” exists within the eurogroup.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis during the press conference in Luxembourg on June 18, 2015. (AFP photo)

Athens, which is in dire need of cash, has until the end of the month to repay some €1.5 billion to the IMF. If it fails to reach a deal and receive the last portion of its bailout, Greece will have no choice but to default on its loans.

A default means Athens will possibly face bankruptcy, an exit from the eurozone, and the European Union (EU).

Now European leaders expect the anti-austerity leftist government in Athens to impose austerity measures in return for more money.

The country has been witnessing demonstrations by Greeks calling on the government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to reject demands by the troika of lenders.

Following the country’s economic crisis in 2009, Athens received two bailouts worth a total of €240 billion ($272 billion) from the three international creditors.

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