Tsipras offers ‘definitive’ plan to EU leaders

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has offered what he has called a “definitive” solution to European leaders, in preparation for Monday’s emergency talks.

Tsipras briefed German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande, EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on the new proposal over the phone, according to the Greek prime minister’s office. Details of the offer were not immediately available.

He will meet the leaders of the 18 other eurozone nations at the Brussels summit.

Tsipras has presented a Greek proposal for a deal during a conference call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

"The prime minister presented the three leaders Greece's proposal for a mutually beneficial agreement that will give a definitive solution and not postpone addressing the problem," Tsipras's office said in a statement.

The proposal comes amid efforts to avoid Greece defaulting on a €1.6bn loan repayment to the IMF.

Greece has been given until the end of this month to make the payment or risk being ejected from the currency union, as well as, possibly also from the EU.

The European Commission, the IMF and the European Central Bank (ECB) are reluctant to make bailout funds available until Greece agrees to the economic reforms they want it to introduce.

Measures demanded include the implementation of a series of economic changes in areas such as pensions, VAT and on the budget surplus before the €7.2bn of funds, which have been witheld since February, are released.

The head of Greece's biggest bank has said it would be "insane" not to reach an agreement at emergency talks on Monday on the country's debt crisis.

Louka Katseli, chair of the National Bank of Greece, said that it would be insane not to reach an agreement during the talks, adding that banks were not under immediate threat of running out of money.

Katseli predicted that Greece would not be forced to leave the euro because "the cost for the eurozone, which they are down-playing, is really serious."

She added: "If the markets decided the eurozone is not an irrevocable decision and a government can be declared insolvent, then the first thing that would happen is that there will be a speculative attack by the markets on the next weakest participant in the eurozone or the euro."

It has been reported that withdrawals by Greek savers between last Monday and Friday reached about €4.2bn, representing about 3% of household and corporate deposits held by Greek banks at the end of April.

However, Greek banks are expected to be opening as normal on Monday, following a loan from the ECB on Friday.