The Mediterranean country is now mere hours away from exiting the eurozone after last night’s emergency talks ended abruptly and without agreement.
While there were early indications yesterday morning that a deal might be reached, it transpired throughout the day that finding “common ground” between member states would be an insurmountable task.
The meeting of the 19 eurozone finance minister was declared terminated just after midnight Greek time. No agreement had been reached.
There are now reports that Germany wants Greece to abandon the euro for five years and be granted humanitarian aid instead. The Greek government indicated that this report is “untrue”.
A disorderly exit from the European currency by Greece might spell disaster for the eurozone as a whole, with a significant risk of contagion across the continent.