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| Greece Said to Delay Offering New Plan on Debt | Greece Said to Delay Offering New Plan on Debt |
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| BRUSSELS — Greece’s newly installed finance minister arrived here at a crucial meeting of his eurozone peers on Tuesday without the new bailout proposal the group had expected to receive, according to a person with direct knowledge of the meeting. | BRUSSELS — Greece’s newly installed finance minister arrived here at a crucial meeting of his eurozone peers on Tuesday without the new bailout proposal the group had expected to receive, according to a person with direct knowledge of the meeting. |
| Instead, the Greek official, Euclid Tsakalotos, told a gathering of eurozone finance ministers that Athens would present a new proposal on Wednesday, according to this person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was still underway and the discussions are meant to be private. | Instead, the Greek official, Euclid Tsakalotos, told a gathering of eurozone finance ministers that Athens would present a new proposal on Wednesday, according to this person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting was still underway and the discussions are meant to be private. |
| But the person said some of the other finance ministers had expressed their frustration at what they considered a further delay by Greece. | But the person said some of the other finance ministers had expressed their frustration at what they considered a further delay by Greece. |
| The head of the group, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, had been upbeat before the meeting. But like other European officials who said they were willing to listen to the latest Greek bailout proposal, Mr. Dijsselbloem indicated that the onus was on Athens to offer something new and specific. | The head of the group, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, had been upbeat before the meeting. But like other European officials who said they were willing to listen to the latest Greek bailout proposal, Mr. Dijsselbloem indicated that the onus was on Athens to offer something new and specific. |
| “It’s going to be very difficult, but we will await new proposals from the Greek government,” Mr. Dijsselbloem said before the meeting of 19 finance ministers, known as the Eurogroup. | “It’s going to be very difficult, but we will await new proposals from the Greek government,” Mr. Dijsselbloem said before the meeting of 19 finance ministers, known as the Eurogroup. |
| The apparent setback might do little to persuade Greece’s many critics in the eurozone that there is any hope of salvaging debt negotiations that broke off nearly two weeks ago, just before Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece called for a public referendum on the issue. | The apparent setback might do little to persuade Greece’s many critics in the eurozone that there is any hope of salvaging debt negotiations that broke off nearly two weeks ago, just before Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of Greece called for a public referendum on the issue. |
| After a referendum, held on Sunday, in which a previous eurozone bailout offer was rejected over its austerity demands, Greece is trying reach a new arrangement as the government and banks are quickly running out of money. Because its previous international bailout program expired before Athens could receive a loan payout of 7.2 billion euros, or about $7.9 billion, the negotiations for any new aid program are essentially starting from scratch. | After a referendum, held on Sunday, in which a previous eurozone bailout offer was rejected over its austerity demands, Greece is trying reach a new arrangement as the government and banks are quickly running out of money. Because its previous international bailout program expired before Athens could receive a loan payout of 7.2 billion euros, or about $7.9 billion, the negotiations for any new aid program are essentially starting from scratch. |
| That is why even as Mr. Dijsselbloem and other European officials — including Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France and the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker — on Tuesday said they were willing to listen to what the Greek government had to say, they tended to express friendly skepticism. | That is why even as Mr. Dijsselbloem and other European officials — including Prime Minister Manuel Valls of France and the European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker — on Tuesday said they were willing to listen to what the Greek government had to say, they tended to express friendly skepticism. |
| “Now is the time to get around the table again,” Mr. Juncker said in a statement to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, alluding to Greece. | |
| “In Europe, there are no simple answers,” he said. “Europe is all about compromise, and this takes time.” | “In Europe, there are no simple answers,” he said. “Europe is all about compromise, and this takes time.” |
| But time is what Greece does not have. And some of the eurozone finance ministers were openly hostile to the idea of reopening negotiations. | But time is what Greece does not have. And some of the eurozone finance ministers were openly hostile to the idea of reopening negotiations. |
| Peter Kazimir, the Slovak finance minister, told reporters before the meeting that “prolonging these debates and discussions would be detrimental to Greece and to the eurozone as a whole.” He said a near-term promise of debt relief, a central demand by Athens, was a “red line” and “absolutely impossible.” | Peter Kazimir, the Slovak finance minister, told reporters before the meeting that “prolonging these debates and discussions would be detrimental to Greece and to the eurozone as a whole.” He said a near-term promise of debt relief, a central demand by Athens, was a “red line” and “absolutely impossible.” |
| The German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, long the most outspoken skeptic of Greece’s ability to come up with a workable plan, also rejected the suggestion of debt reduction for Greece, saying it was not allowed under European regulations. As he headed into the meeting, Mr. Schäuble insisted that without a new agreement, there would be no financial assistance for Greece, which “fought successfully to reject” such a deal. | The German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, long the most outspoken skeptic of Greece’s ability to come up with a workable plan, also rejected the suggestion of debt reduction for Greece, saying it was not allowed under European regulations. As he headed into the meeting, Mr. Schäuble insisted that without a new agreement, there would be no financial assistance for Greece, which “fought successfully to reject” such a deal. |
| “We respect that, but without a program, there is no way to help Greece within the eurozone,” Mr. Schäuble said. | “We respect that, but without a program, there is no way to help Greece within the eurozone,” Mr. Schäuble said. |
| Asked whether the Greeks could retain the euro currency, Mr. Schäuble threw the question back, saying, “You have to ask the Greek government.” | Asked whether the Greeks could retain the euro currency, Mr. Schäuble threw the question back, saying, “You have to ask the Greek government.” |
| The finance ministers were meeting ahead of an emergency summit meeting of the 19 leaders of eurozone countries at 7 p.m. in Brussels, including Mr. Tsipras. Also expected to attend was Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, another of Greece’s big creditors. Mr. Dijsselbloem was also expected to be at the evening meeting, presumably to report on any progress from the afternoon gathering. | The finance ministers were meeting ahead of an emergency summit meeting of the 19 leaders of eurozone countries at 7 p.m. in Brussels, including Mr. Tsipras. Also expected to attend was Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, another of Greece’s big creditors. Mr. Dijsselbloem was also expected to be at the evening meeting, presumably to report on any progress from the afternoon gathering. |
| Without a positive progress report from the afternoon session, there might be few prospects for the leaders to reach any sort of agreement with Mr. Tsipras. | Without a positive progress report from the afternoon session, there might be few prospects for the leaders to reach any sort of agreement with Mr. Tsipras. |
| The Irish finance minister, Michael Noonan, was more positive than some of his peers on the possibility that Greece’s debts could be restructured, and he also appeared to encourage Greece to push that request. But he, too, said that Tuesday’s meeting would not yield a breakthrough. | The Irish finance minister, Michael Noonan, was more positive than some of his peers on the possibility that Greece’s debts could be restructured, and he also appeared to encourage Greece to push that request. But he, too, said that Tuesday’s meeting would not yield a breakthrough. |
| “It is a lot to do in a very short period of time, so I don’t think we are looking at a conclusion today,” Mr. Noonan said before the meeting, referring to a Greek request for a new aid program. But he warned that seemingly endless negotiations between Athens and its creditors since the election of the Tsipras government in January could not drag on for weeks. “I don’t think any of us want to kick the can down the road for another month,” he said. He added that any workable proposal should “carry for several years.” | “It is a lot to do in a very short period of time, so I don’t think we are looking at a conclusion today,” Mr. Noonan said before the meeting, referring to a Greek request for a new aid program. But he warned that seemingly endless negotiations between Athens and its creditors since the election of the Tsipras government in January could not drag on for weeks. “I don’t think any of us want to kick the can down the road for another month,” he said. He added that any workable proposal should “carry for several years.” |
| Still, no one presumably wants to take the blame for a possible sudden, chaotic Greek departure from the eurozone. That means that all sides could agree to keep talking even as the crisis reaches new levels of intensity, and even as Greece hurtles toward a deadline — a payment of €3.5 billion to the European Central Bank on July 20 — that most analysts think it cannot miss without leaving the eurozone. | Still, no one presumably wants to take the blame for a possible sudden, chaotic Greek departure from the eurozone. That means that all sides could agree to keep talking even as the crisis reaches new levels of intensity, and even as Greece hurtles toward a deadline — a payment of €3.5 billion to the European Central Bank on July 20 — that most analysts think it cannot miss without leaving the eurozone. |
| “Today’s eurozone summit should be another crossroads for either a last-minute compromise or some kind of Grexit,” Carsten Brzeski, the chief economist at the bank ING-DiBa in Frankfurt, wrote on Tuesday in a briefing note, using the term for Greece’s exiting the euro currency bloc. “However, the biggest hurdle to such a compromise is the bad blood spilled on Brussels’s carpets over the last five months.” | “Today’s eurozone summit should be another crossroads for either a last-minute compromise or some kind of Grexit,” Carsten Brzeski, the chief economist at the bank ING-DiBa in Frankfurt, wrote on Tuesday in a briefing note, using the term for Greece’s exiting the euro currency bloc. “However, the biggest hurdle to such a compromise is the bad blood spilled on Brussels’s carpets over the last five months.” |
| Senior German officials dug in their heels on Monday, saying a vote by Greeks to reject further austerity in a referendum last weekend did not oblige other countries in the eurozone to change their positions. | Senior German officials dug in their heels on Monday, saying a vote by Greeks to reject further austerity in a referendum last weekend did not oblige other countries in the eurozone to change their positions. |
| But the finance ministers on Tuesday were having their first chance to hear from Mr. Tsakalotos, who took over from his combative predecessor, Yanis Varoufakis, on Monday. | But the finance ministers on Tuesday were having their first chance to hear from Mr. Tsakalotos, who took over from his combative predecessor, Yanis Varoufakis, on Monday. |
| Mr. Tsakalotos has been coordinating negotiations between Greece and its creditors since April, and his presence at the Eurogroup could provide a welcome change of tone after ministers grew weary of Mr. Varoufakis’s hectoring style and long lectures. | Mr. Tsakalotos has been coordinating negotiations between Greece and its creditors since April, and his presence at the Eurogroup could provide a welcome change of tone after ministers grew weary of Mr. Varoufakis’s hectoring style and long lectures. |
| The Eurogroup was also meeting just days after the International Monetary Fund concluded that Greece must have some form of debt relief — a central demand by Athens. | The Eurogroup was also meeting just days after the International Monetary Fund concluded that Greece must have some form of debt relief — a central demand by Athens. |
| But eurozone ministers have shown little sign of willingness to concede debt relief before Greece carries out promised overhauls in areas like taxation and pension spending. The Eurogroup has also flatly refused to open any formal negotiations with Greece on its application for a third bailout package from a eurozone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism. | But eurozone ministers have shown little sign of willingness to concede debt relief before Greece carries out promised overhauls in areas like taxation and pension spending. The Eurogroup has also flatly refused to open any formal negotiations with Greece on its application for a third bailout package from a eurozone bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism. |
| Eurozone member states have already lent €184 billion to Greece as part of two international bailouts since 2010. The rescues have totaled €240 billion, including contributions from the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. | Eurozone member states have already lent €184 billion to Greece as part of two international bailouts since 2010. The rescues have totaled €240 billion, including contributions from the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. |
| Mr. Tsipras let the country’s second bailout package lapse last month when creditors thought a deal was close at hand. Instead, he chose to call Sunday’s surprise referendum, which was seen as a betrayal by some senior European Union officials. | Mr. Tsipras let the country’s second bailout package lapse last month when creditors thought a deal was close at hand. Instead, he chose to call Sunday’s surprise referendum, which was seen as a betrayal by some senior European Union officials. |
| There are also concerns over whether Mr. Tsipras would ever put in place the conditions that creditors have demanded as the basis for any deal. | There are also concerns over whether Mr. Tsipras would ever put in place the conditions that creditors have demanded as the basis for any deal. |
| Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany emphasized on Monday that just as Greek voters had a right to make their voices heard, the views of other democracies in the European Union also had to be respected. Some senior European Union officials have made it clear that offering Greece leniency could be the wrong approach, since formerly beleaguered countries in the eurozone like Ireland and Portugal had experienced major progress as a result of the disciplinary budgetary discipline and structural changes prescribed by the creditors. | Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany emphasized on Monday that just as Greek voters had a right to make their voices heard, the views of other democracies in the European Union also had to be respected. Some senior European Union officials have made it clear that offering Greece leniency could be the wrong approach, since formerly beleaguered countries in the eurozone like Ireland and Portugal had experienced major progress as a result of the disciplinary budgetary discipline and structural changes prescribed by the creditors. |
| A failure to make good on the July 20 bailout payment to the European Central Bank would make it almost inevitable that Greece would have to cut a lifeline for the country’s cash-drained banks. And that could force the country to print a parallel currency that would hasten its departure from the currency bloc. | A failure to make good on the July 20 bailout payment to the European Central Bank would make it almost inevitable that Greece would have to cut a lifeline for the country’s cash-drained banks. And that could force the country to print a parallel currency that would hasten its departure from the currency bloc. |
| “If there is no progress whatsoever this week, the prospects for Greece staying in the eurozone would become grim,” said Nicolas Véron, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a research organization in Brussels. | |
| The continuation of emergency funding for Greek banks by the European Central Bank “is clearly dependent on the likelihood of an agreement between Greece and its creditors,” Mr. Veron said. But if that source of aid is “stopped and no agreement is in sight,” he added, “it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which Greece stays in the eurozone for long.” | |