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| European Leaders Urge Greece to Accelerate Overhaul Efforts | European Leaders Urge Greece to Accelerate Overhaul Efforts |
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| BRUSSELS — With Greece rapidly running out of money and again teetering on the edge of default, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany stood firm early Friday against pleading by the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, and prodded him to speed up efforts to overhaul his country’s gasping economy in return for cash. | BRUSSELS — With Greece rapidly running out of money and again teetering on the edge of default, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany stood firm early Friday against pleading by the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, and prodded him to speed up efforts to overhaul his country’s gasping economy in return for cash. |
| Mr. Tsipras has exasperated fellow European leaders, who gathered in Brussels on Thursday for a long-planned two-day meeting about energy and foreign affairs, with what they see as repeated failures by his own left-wing and previous Greek governments to deliver on commitments made in return for bailout funds. | Mr. Tsipras has exasperated fellow European leaders, who gathered in Brussels on Thursday for a long-planned two-day meeting about energy and foreign affairs, with what they see as repeated failures by his own left-wing and previous Greek governments to deliver on commitments made in return for bailout funds. |
| Separate talks on Greece stretched late into the night. Afterward, French, German and Greek leaders asserted that Greece can get back on track by accelerating the implementation of an agreement reached between Athens and its creditors on Feb. 20. | Separate talks on Greece stretched late into the night. Afterward, French, German and Greek leaders asserted that Greece can get back on track by accelerating the implementation of an agreement reached between Athens and its creditors on Feb. 20. |
| The talks calmed what in recent days had become a poisonous war of words between Greece and its creditors but did not immediately unblock any money for Athens. That will have to await a decision by the Eurogroup, which comprises finance ministers from the 19 countries that use the single currency, the euro. No date has yet been set for these ministers to reconvene. | The talks calmed what in recent days had become a poisonous war of words between Greece and its creditors but did not immediately unblock any money for Athens. That will have to await a decision by the Eurogroup, which comprises finance ministers from the 19 countries that use the single currency, the euro. No date has yet been set for these ministers to reconvene. |
| The February deal — which gave Greece the opportunity to submit its own proposals to increase tax revenue, contain government spending and implement labor market and other changes — was the latest in a series of agreements that were initially hailed as breakthroughs but that subsequently stalled and set up a new crisis. Its purpose was to curb endless bickering between Athens and Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union, and stabilize not only Greece’s finances but the future of the common currency, a central pillar of European integration. | The February deal — which gave Greece the opportunity to submit its own proposals to increase tax revenue, contain government spending and implement labor market and other changes — was the latest in a series of agreements that were initially hailed as breakthroughs but that subsequently stalled and set up a new crisis. Its purpose was to curb endless bickering between Athens and Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union, and stabilize not only Greece’s finances but the future of the common currency, a central pillar of European integration. |
| Ms. Merkel, the leader of Europe’s biggest economy and its main decision maker on policy toward Greece, said at a news conference early Friday in Brussels that Mr. Tsipras had promised to submit a list of overhaul measures “quickly because the situation obviously is one where trust is needed urgently.” | Ms. Merkel, the leader of Europe’s biggest economy and its main decision maker on policy toward Greece, said at a news conference early Friday in Brussels that Mr. Tsipras had promised to submit a list of overhaul measures “quickly because the situation obviously is one where trust is needed urgently.” |
| Greece has had two international bailouts worth 240 billion euros, or $273 billion, since 2010 but is now once again perilously short of cash. On Friday, nearly $2 billion of debts became due for repayment by its nearly bankrupt government. | Greece has had two international bailouts worth 240 billion euros, or $273 billion, since 2010 but is now once again perilously short of cash. On Friday, nearly $2 billion of debts became due for repayment by its nearly bankrupt government. |
| In a terse statement released after more than three hours of late-night talks with the Greek leader, the heads of the European Union’s main decision-making institutions called on Greece to honor the February agreement and stressed the need for it to move “as fast as possible.” | In a terse statement released after more than three hours of late-night talks with the Greek leader, the heads of the European Union’s main decision-making institutions called on Greece to honor the February agreement and stressed the need for it to move “as fast as possible.” |
| Greece needs to present concrete measures “in the next days,” according to a trio of leaders from the European Commission, the European Council and the Eurogroup. | Greece needs to present concrete measures “in the next days,” according to a trio of leaders from the European Commission, the European Council and the Eurogroup. |
| Despite appearing to win no concessions and facing criticism from some of his own left-wing supporters for failing to deliver on promises to scrap austerity measures demanded by Germany, Mr. Tsipras put a brave face on the result of the Brussels talks, telling reporters that “we are more optimist after this deliberation.” | |
| France’s Socialist president, François Hollande, echoed Ms. Merkel’s tough line, saying that the talks with Mr. Tsipras had focused on “the necessity of Greece to deliver the reforms that are expected of it.” He ruled out any revision of the February deal, describing it as “the right process, the right path to find a solution for Greece.” | France’s Socialist president, François Hollande, echoed Ms. Merkel’s tough line, saying that the talks with Mr. Tsipras had focused on “the necessity of Greece to deliver the reforms that are expected of it.” He ruled out any revision of the February deal, describing it as “the right process, the right path to find a solution for Greece.” |
| While Mr. Tsipras’s party, Syriza, has blamed its travails largely on Germany, other European Union leaders have aligned themselves with Berlin’s demands for prompt action by Greece. Alexander Stubb, the prime minister of Finland, said Greece had “no chance, absolutely” of getting any further money from Europe unless it first delivered on its February promises. | While Mr. Tsipras’s party, Syriza, has blamed its travails largely on Germany, other European Union leaders have aligned themselves with Berlin’s demands for prompt action by Greece. Alexander Stubb, the prime minister of Finland, said Greece had “no chance, absolutely” of getting any further money from Europe unless it first delivered on its February promises. |
| In keeping with the European Union’s preference for orderly procedure rather than confronting crises as they happen, Greece’s desperate financial situation did not figure on the official agenda for the two-day gathering of 28 leaders that began Thursday in Brussels. Instead, they focused on long-stalled but recently revived plans to reduce dependency on Russian gas; the conflict in Ukraine; and the spreading chaos in Libya. | In keeping with the European Union’s preference for orderly procedure rather than confronting crises as they happen, Greece’s desperate financial situation did not figure on the official agenda for the two-day gathering of 28 leaders that began Thursday in Brussels. Instead, they focused on long-stalled but recently revived plans to reduce dependency on Russian gas; the conflict in Ukraine; and the spreading chaos in Libya. |
| At the end of the first day of formal discussions, Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, which represents leaders, said there was agreement that sanctions imposed last year on Russia after the annexation of Crimea last March should remain in force until a cease-fire to the conflict in eastern Ukraine — agreed to last month in Minsk, Belarus — had been fully implemented. This, he indicated, meant that Russia could expect no relief from tight restrictions on Western credits and other sanctions until at least the end of the year. | At the end of the first day of formal discussions, Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, which represents leaders, said there was agreement that sanctions imposed last year on Russia after the annexation of Crimea last March should remain in force until a cease-fire to the conflict in eastern Ukraine — agreed to last month in Minsk, Belarus — had been fully implemented. This, he indicated, meant that Russia could expect no relief from tight restrictions on Western credits and other sanctions until at least the end of the year. |
| These agreements, however, did nothing to tackle what a senior European diplomat described as “the elephant in the room” — the risk of a Greek default and revived fears about the future of Europe’s common currency. | These agreements, however, did nothing to tackle what a senior European diplomat described as “the elephant in the room” — the risk of a Greek default and revived fears about the future of Europe’s common currency. |
| Greece’s backsliding on its pledges has stirred speculation in recent days of a possible “Grexit,” or Greek exit, from the 19-nation group that uses the euro. It also gave rise to a new piece of Brussels jargon: “Grexident,” or the prospect of Greece stumbling through the exit by accident. | Greece’s backsliding on its pledges has stirred speculation in recent days of a possible “Grexit,” or Greek exit, from the 19-nation group that uses the euro. It also gave rise to a new piece of Brussels jargon: “Grexident,” or the prospect of Greece stumbling through the exit by accident. |
| In a sign of how testy the mood had become, Charles Michel, the prime minister of Belgium, another country that uses the euro, complained that mediation with Greece should involve all members of the eurozone and could not be done by a few individual members. | In a sign of how testy the mood had become, Charles Michel, the prime minister of Belgium, another country that uses the euro, complained that mediation with Greece should involve all members of the eurozone and could not be done by a few individual members. |
| “I am angry,” Mr. Michel said, according to Belgian news reports. “We did not give a mandate to either France or Germany to negotiate.” | “I am angry,” Mr. Michel said, according to Belgian news reports. “We did not give a mandate to either France or Germany to negotiate.” |
| But Mr. Stubb of Finland, which also uses the euro, said he was happy to let Ms. Merkel and Mr. Hollande face down Mr. Tsipras late into the night, noting that “there is always a lot of mayhem around these meetings.” | But Mr. Stubb of Finland, which also uses the euro, said he was happy to let Ms. Merkel and Mr. Hollande face down Mr. Tsipras late into the night, noting that “there is always a lot of mayhem around these meetings.” |
| A Greek departure from the eurozone could force it to leave the European Union, too, a step that would, for the first time, throw into reverse a process of integration that has advanced steadily for more than six decades. | A Greek departure from the eurozone could force it to leave the European Union, too, a step that would, for the first time, throw into reverse a process of integration that has advanced steadily for more than six decades. |
| It would also raise doubts about the future integrity and viability of Europe’s most significant joint venture, its common currency. | It would also raise doubts about the future integrity and viability of Europe’s most significant joint venture, its common currency. |
| “The eurozone is more than a fixed-rate system, it’s more than that,” Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, said at a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday. “It’s a single currency, and the single currency has to be perpetual for all its members, and as soon as one leaves, the question is, who’s next? And that’s not the way things must go.” | “The eurozone is more than a fixed-rate system, it’s more than that,” Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic and financial affairs, said at a news conference in Brussels on Wednesday. “It’s a single currency, and the single currency has to be perpetual for all its members, and as soon as one leaves, the question is, who’s next? And that’s not the way things must go.” |