Greek prime minister vows to strike deal to stay inside eurozone
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Version 0 of 1. The Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has vowed to strike a deal to stay inside the eurozone despite Athens’ refusal to implement the European Union’s austerity measures and calls by his radical left-led government for a bigger rescue package. Tsipras said on Monday he was optimistic about reaching a compromise with Brussels on renegotiating Greece’s massive international bailout. “There is a common desire to resolve this crisis. I am optimistic that we will reach a compromise with our European partners,” he said after meeting the Austrian chancellor, Werner Faymann, in Vienna. But his comments came as sources close to the government in Athens said Greek negotiators would need a bridging loan lasting until at least August – two months longer than previously expected – to allow negotiations over a new bailout package. The growing sense of confusion in European capitals about Athens’ demands for an overhaul of its 2010 debt deal has raised further fears that Greece may eventually be forced out of the eurozone. The Greek stock market dropped by almost 5% on Monday, leading to falls in Paris and Frankfurt. The falls followed a recovery last week as investors had sensed a more conciliatory tone from Athens. Related: Greece planning to ask Eurogroup for longer bridge programme - live updates David Cameron convened a meeting of Cobra, the British government’s emergency committee, to discuss UK preparations for a possible Greek exit from the euro. The one-hour meeting on Monday morning – attended by Foreign Office, Treasury, Downing Street and banking officials – examined the risk of contagion to the UK banking system if the Greeks were pushed out of the eurozone. The German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, a long-time critic of Greek attempts to break with the existing deal, said that if Greece wanted Berlin’s help there needed to be a programme agreed with creditors, rather than the emergency assistance that Athens had called for. “I still don’t understand how they [Greece] want to do it,” he added after arriving at a G20 meeting in Istanbul. The UK government spokesman stressed the need to be vigilant about the developments, but added that since 2012 the European banks had taken steps to ensure they were more resilient in the face of a further euro crisis. No 10 publicised Monday’s Cobra meeting either because Cameron wants to put pressure on Berlin and Brussels to reach a deal with Greece or because he wants to highlight the continuing threat to the UK recovery posed by the eurozone crisis in an attempt to underline his government’s perceived economic competence in contrast with Labour The chancellor, George Osborne, was not at the meeting because he was on his way to Turkey for a meeting of G20 finance ministers. On Monday, Tsipras said there was nothing to fear from renegotiating a deal after pledges by his government to crackdown on tax evasion and bring public finances further into balance. He said: “Throughout its history the EU has had its ups and downs, and we have always found a solution. I don’t see any reason why we would not be able to reach an accord.” Faymann said the EU and the 19 members of the single currency union must find a solution as “the eurozone must remain united in a difficult situation”. |