Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras emerged after a new round of late-night talks with his French and German counterparts in confident mood despite no break-through.
Tsipras said to reporters that the discussions with Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande took place in a “very good climate”.
All sides appear committed to resolving Greece’s debt default crisis and intend to intensify efforts to reach a solution, Tsipras said after the talks had concluded. "The European leaders realized that we must offer a viable solution and the chance for Greece to return to growth with social cohesion and safety, but also with a sustainable debt," he said.
The three leaders seemed to agree about primary surplus for 2015 to increase from 0.75% to 1% for 2015, which can be interpreted as more taxes for the Greek people. As for the VAT, the government reportedly has already proposed the middle rate to rise to 12%, but did not exclude dropping one unit further, depending on the surplus level.
The Greek government has asked creditors for ESM money to repay ECB. Furthermore Greece wants a nine-month extension to the bailout agreement that is due to expire at the end of the month to allow more time to work out its reform program, Bloomberg reports.
Sources from the Prime Ministers office confirmed to iefimerida.gr that meetings of the Greek delegation with Tsipras being present were held till the early morning hours
“We have exhausted all possibilities” a person close to the talk said to iefimerida.gr confirming that it is in everyones interest to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, and that an agreement can be reached if Greece's lenders back down from some of their demands.
A German government spokesman would only say that the discussions had been constructive. "It was agreed unanimously that the talks between the Greek government and the institutions (IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank) should be pursued with great intensity," the spokesman said.
As the June 30 deadline looms the talks will now take precedence over the coming days with the next important meeting being held today between Alexis Tsipras and Commission President Jean Claude Juncker.
A possible date for a preliminary agreement to be reached is the next Eurogroup meeting that will take place in June 18. Even if an agreement is reached it should be ratified by the Parliaments of all countries involved and time pressure forces decision makers to act before the deadline of June 30.