Sunday night gave way to Monday morning in Brussels and yet still no agreement was reached on a new bailout deal for Greece. The talks, which had extended past 15 hours, had produced several smaller private conferences amongst leaders, an occasional glimmer of hope, and plenty of confusion. But as the sun came up over Europe, no deal was in place.
If the talks don't succeed, some eurozone leaders have warned that Greece could be temporarily forced out of the euro, the European single currency that the country has been a part of since 2002. No country has ever left the joint currency, which launched in 1999, and there is no mechanism in place for one to do so.
Early Monday, a Greek official said the key sticking points were the involvement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Greece's bailout program and a proposal that Greece set aside 50 billion euros ($56 billion) worth of state-owned assets in a fund for eventual privatization.
#greece #euco greeks balking at €50bn or 'up to€50 bn' assets. say can't do more than 17bn. +legalism problem on stipulating IMF involvement— Ian Traynor (@traynorbrussels) July 13, 2015
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to discuss the negotiations, said any agreement would provide quick help for Greek banks from the European Central Bank. Without it, they risk running out of money this week.
Late on Sunday night, into Monday morning, a four-hour meeting was held between Tsipras, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President François Hollande, and European Council president Donald Tusk. Following the extended private session, it appeared that a new compromise was on the precipice of being accepted.
Meeting btw @atsipras #Merkel #Hollande and @eucopresident finished. #EuroSummit starts again. #Greece— Efi Koutsokosta (@Efkouts) July 13, 2015
Tsipras, Hollande, Merkel and Tusk propose Greece 'compromise' after talks on sidelines of #EuroSummit: European source tells AFP— Danny Kemp (@dannyctkemp) July 13, 2015
But after some initial moments of optimism, the summit once again sank into uncertainty as Monday dawned.
Sources: Negotiation still tough, #Greece cannot accept IMF involvement in 3rd bail out and Trust fund up to 50 bln #EuroSummit— Giovanna Pancheri (@giopank) July 13, 2015
As a new day dawned, and the summit hit a record length, the four main characters in the unfolding drama once again gathered in a private conference.
LATEST #Eurosummit - EU official: big 4 back into separate meeting on €50bn asset fund issue. That's Tusk, Tsipras, Merkel, Hollande #Greece— Ryan Heath (@PoliticoRyan) July 13, 2015
Dawn breaks, croissants arrive but still no #eurosummit deal pic.twitter.com/gYX3uqRlCU— Stephen Brown (@Stephen_G_Brown) July 13, 2015
According to a report from Politico, the latest meeting seemed to surround the proposed privatized Greek assets.
According to an EU official, Donald Tusk, Alexis Tsipras, François Hollande and Angela Merkel are currently negotiating over the fund that is to hold the Greek assets to be privatized. Merkel is insisting that it contain €50bn of assets, while Hollande is trying to build a compromise around a figure of €25bn.
It wasn't entirely clear what a temporary exit from the euro would entail, but the threat of expulsion put intense pressure on Tsipras to swallow politically unpalatable austerity measures because his people overwhelmingly want to stay in the eurozone.
Reports from German media indicated that Tsipras failed to remove the IMF's involvement, meaning the privatization issue may be the only one remaining and even that was a subject of fluctuating numbers.
#Greece: #Tsipras fails to get rid of #IMF. Fund will remain involved, sources say. @welt @jandams @andretauber @MartinGreive— Olaf Gersemann (@OlafGersemann) July 13, 2015
#greece #euco sources say several players dismissed 50bn figure, IMF spoke of 7bn, greeks of 17bn, yet germans insist on 50 or 'up to 50'— Ian Traynor (@traynorbrussels) July 13, 2015
The deal on the table appeared to include commitments from Tsipras to push a drastic austerity program including pension, market and privatization reforms through parliament by Wednesday, and from the 18 other eurozone leaders to start talks on a new bailout program.
Though, the possibility was raised that talks could drag on another week before any final resolution.
#Greece says can't pass legal system reforms & rules for dealing w/ bank failures by July 15, asks for week extension http://t.co/84fEtKhPj6— Tara Palmeri (@tarapalmeri) July 12, 2015
The talks extended to such length that some countries began to leave the summit, handing their vote over to others, though Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė indicated, as she left, a deal was close.
Leaving #EuroSummit early due to @jensstoltenberg visit in Sl. One open issue left. NL PM Rutte will represent SI. pic.twitter.com/ztv45YcaYc— dr. Miro Cerar (@MiroCerar) July 13, 2015
#greece #euco some leaders leaving and covering for one another. getting fed up after 16 hours. but not over for the zealots— Ian Traynor (@traynorbrussels) July 13, 2015
Meanwhile, in Athens, Greeks continued to deal with new daily hardships thanks to the ongoing crisis and bank closures. While it probably provided little solace to some, even Apple has offered Greek users some benefits while they wait on an outcome that will affect the course of their country's history.
Despite the ongoing drama in Europe, Asian markets appeared unaffected, showing gains early Monday.
#AsianMarkets at 9:00AM #GlobalIndices pic.twitter.com/57buIi2ZVW— Capital Trends (@CapitalTrends) July 13, 2015
Additional reporting by The Associated Press