Updated | Greek Prime Minister urged 'to satisfy' creditors

First emerging reports of emergency Euro summit confirm Alexis Tsipras was urged to make a final push 'to satisfy creditors'

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat with European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat with European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat with European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat with European Commission President Jean Claude Juncker and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and French President Francois Hollande
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and French President Francois Hollande
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat and Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem
European Council President Donald Tusk
European Council President Donald Tusk

While the European Union’s technical teams are scrambling to study and analyse a fresh set of proposals presented by Greece in the early hours of Monday morning, European Council President Donald Tusk sounded a stern warning that he wants the “political gambling” to end.

There are however great doubts on what the leaders of the Euro area can actually manage to achieve this evening, given that the finance ministers concluded nothing during an earlier meeting.

According to Bloomberg, the 19 Euro leaders urged Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s government "to make a final push to satisfy creditors and finally end a five-month standoff over aid".

The meeting was described as “a fairly relaxed one”, with no heated discussions or latecomers.

The leaders delivered home the message that the Greek prime minister should meet the creditors halfway.

According to OpenEurope, in possession of the latest proposal, Greece seems to have eventually come round to the creditors' view on a number of points. The new proposals  appear to come closer to creditors’ demands, at least in terms of headline numbers, it reported.

It is not yet clear whether they will continue discussing the matter on Thursday, when the heads of state and government convene once again in Brussels for a summit on migration, or whether a separate euro summit will be held.

In comments ahead of the informal dinner, Tusk said time was running out for both Greece and the euro areas. With one week to go before the Greek programme expires, he said that the "let's wait and see" strategy must end.

“It is my responsibility to make sure that we have done all we can to solve this problem. But it is also my responsibility to ensure that we respect all taxpayers in all countries. If they hadn't borne the burden of austerities, they wouldn't be able to help Greece today. This is also why all the parties of the negotiations should respect one another. I am absolutely convinced that the blame game leads nowhere,” Tusk said.

“This evening I want all cards on the table. It doesn't mean that I want to negotiate the technical details, but it means that I want to end the political gambling. I can say that since I called this informal meeting some promising things have happened, including today's talks and meetings. And the latest Greek proposals are the first real proposals in many weeks, although they obviously still need the assessment of the institutions and further work.”

Tusk said that the leaders must take full responsibility for the political process to avoid the worst-case scenario “which means uncontrollable, chaotic Graccident”.