Greece makes last-chance bid for bailout

Greek tourism groups warn of an "explosion of unemployment" if no deal is struck. Photo / AP

European leaders demand Athens’ detailed proposals by today.

Greece has made a final bid for aid from Europe's bailout fund, as it faces a race against the clock to avoid economic collapse.

The Greek Government asked for a three-year loan programme from the European Stability Mechanism, which is guaranteed by the 19 member states of the eurozone bloc, insisting it was ready to implement major economic reforms.

According to the letter sent to the ESM, Athens said it would "immediately implement a set of measures as early as the beginning of next week".

The move - Athens' last chance of staving off a banking collapse and exit from the euro - must be followed up with detailed proposals today, according to a final timetable fixed by eurozone leaders. A meeting of all European leaders takes place on Monday (NZT) to prepare for a possible Grexit.

Without a deal in place, the European Central Bank is poised to withdraw 89 billion ($147 billion) of emergency funding - a move that would trigger a banking collapse and an end to euro membership.

"Riots and chaos" will ensue, Christian Noyer, the governor of the French central bank and a member of the ECB governing council, warned yesterday.

"The Greek economy is on the brink of catastrophe. A deal absolutely must be reached because it will be too late after that and the consequences will be grave," he said.

Greek depositors are limited to withdrawals of 60 a day and Noyer said it is "impossible" to reopen the banks at the moment without triggering an "immediate run". But the emergency aid will not carry on "indefinitely" because the rules have already been pushed "to their limit", Noyer said.

Greek tourism groups warned of an "explosion of unemployment" if no deal is struck.

There has been a surge in sales of fridges, televisions and top-of-the-range computers as Greeks attempt to turn their remaining euros into hard assets.

Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish Premier, said the fresh Greek initiative - the latest in a long line of failed offers - was a sign that Greece's "tune" has changed, and said he looks forward to seeing the "lyrics" today.

Germany's Finance Ministry said the proposed reforms must be "comprehensive". A poll of leading economists carried out by Reuters placed the probability of Greece leaving the euro at 55 per cent, the first time it has become more likely than not.

Alexis Tsipras, the Greek Prime Minister, was greeted with a mixture of adulation and fury as he told the European Parliament his country had become an "austerity laboratory".

Messages to Alexis Tsipras

Nigel Farage

Britain's Ukip leader urged Tsipras to exit the euro "with your head held high". Farage added: "Get back your democracy, get back control of your country, give your people the leadership and the hope that they crave."

Guy Verhofstadt

The liberal leader in the European Parliament furiously accused Tsipras of "sleepwalking towards Grexit" because he had failed to present serious plans for fresh loans. "Show you are a real leader and not a false prophet," he said.

Manfred Weber

Senior German conservative Weber accused Tsipras of destroying trust in Europe and asked why poorer Bulgarian taxpayers should subsidise Greece. "To the far-left and the far-right you have a lot of applause," Weber told him. "The extremists of Europe are applauding you."

Donald Tusk

It is now a "race against time to rebuild trust", said the chairman of the European Council. "To find fault is easy. To do better may be difficult," he said. "I hope doing better is not so difficult as Plutarch once thought. Let us prove him wrong."