Tsipras wants emergency EU summit if no deal is reached Friday
Greece’s left-wing prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, on Wednesday called for an emergency summit of EU leaders this month if no agreement is reached on the country’s bailout progress at Friday’s Eurogroup meeting in Malta.
“I think the initiative will have to be taken at the higher level to have a positive outcome before Easter, in any case within April, even if this means calling a euro area summit,” Tsipras said after a meeting with EU Council President Donald Tusk in Athens.
“But this endless negotiation must come to an end,” he added.
In his comments, Tusk said there was “no political alternative” to Friday's Eurogroup resulting in a technical deal between Greece and its lenders.
“Our finance ministers should do the work to achieve an agreement. This is the only positive result for Greece and for the whole community,” the former Polish prime minister said.
“We are close to concluding this demanding procedure,” he added.
The bailout talks have been delayed for months, freezing the payout of a rescue loan installment and hurting chances of a Greek economic recovery after years of recession and turmoil.
