Eurozone leaders reach a compromise deal that could secure Greece a third bailout

By NewsGram Staff Writer

Brussels: After a marathon 15 hours of talks, the longest EU summit on record, Eurozone leaders have reached a compromise deal that could secure Greece a third bailout.

Confirming the deal, Charles Michel, the Belgium prime minister, tweeted the word "Agreement". Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council confirmed the agreement soon afterwards.

Eurozone leaders met in Brussels on Sunday night, aiming to finalise their last-chance offer to the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras as a condition for starting talks on a new bailout plan, the Independent reported.

The proposals call for measures, including new laws on the value added tax (VAT) and pension systems, the reform of bankruptcy rules, the privatisation of electricity transmission, and strengthening the independence of Greece's statistics office.

A particularly controversial suggestion is for 50 billion euros (about $52 billion) in Greek assets to be handed in escrow to eurozone authorities, and sold off if Athens fails to meet its reform promises.

Greek officials insisted that 17 billion euros (about $19 billion) worth of assets was as far as they could go.

Social media sites throbbed with outrage. The hashtag #ThisIsACoup soared to the most trending in Europe.

The summit was paused for several hours overnight to allow talks between Tsipras, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and European Council President Donald Tusk, a BBC report said.

Earlier on Monday, Tusk's spokesman announced the summit was reconvening to discuss a "compromise proposal". However, Merkel warned that Tsipras had squandered the goodwill of almost all his eurozone partners.

"The most important currency has been lost and that is trust," she said on her way into the summit.

"There will be hard talks, and not unity at any price. We must be sure to weigh the pros and cons."

(With input from IANS)