– ‘The tune has changed’ –
French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said the proposals were a step in the right direction and reiterated that keeping Greece in the eurozone was a “geopolitical issue of the highest importance”.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also said of Greece: “The tune has changed, it’s not what we were hearing until now and that’s positive.”
But Tusk reiterated Sunday’s summit was the final chance for a deal to avoid a so-called “Grexit” – Greece crashing out of the 19-nation single European currency – which would have global repercussions.
“This is really and truly the final wake-up call for Greece and for us, our last chance,” he said, warning that failure “may lead to the bankruptcy of Greece” and cause geopolitical problems for Europe.
Other leading figures from the world of global finance also cautioned Wednesday that restructuring Greece’s debt mountain had to be a part of a deal.
“Greece is in a situation of acute crisis which needs to be addressed,” International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde told a conference in Washington.
“We believe (debt restructuring) is needed in the case of Greece for it to have debt sustainability.”
The IMF – which along with the EU and ECB make up Greece’s principal creditors – last week said Brussels would need to stump up another 36 billion euros ($40 billion) to keep the country afloat.
