Eurozone to Greece: Either a deal, or go bust

Paris: After Greece failed to propose a fresh debt deal on Tuesday, the eurozone gave it until Thursday to present new proposals to secure a deal with creditors, media reported on Wednesday.

On Sunday, a meeting of all 28 members of the European Union (EU) will be held – a day after the new Greek proposals are expected to be discussed by the eurozone finance ministers.

The Greek crisis came up for debate in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Wednesday. European Council President Donald Tusk told members of the European Parliament that there were only "four days left" to reach a final agreement, BBC reported.

Amid boos and cheers, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addressed the European parliament, saying the Greek people "stood up and were counted – we have to listen to what they said".

Tsipras said detailed proposals were being drawn up to bring about an agreement with Greece's partners on resolving the debt crisis.

In Brussels on Tuesday, Greece was given an ultimatum that either there would be a deal or Greece and its banks would face the prospect of going bust on Monday (July 13).

EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said Europe wanted to stop Greece falling out of the eurozone.

"The Commission does not want a Grexit (Greece's exit from the eurozone). Grexit would be a terrible failure and we are fighting to avoid it," Moscovici said.

Earlier, EU President Jean-Claude Juncker said Grexit could not be ruled out but he did not want Greece to leave the eurozone.

"We have a humanitarian plan, if needed," he added.

(IANS)