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| Greek crisis: Eurozone finance ministers hold last-ditch talks to avoid 'catastrophe' - live updates | Greek crisis: Eurozone finance ministers hold last-ditch talks to avoid 'catastrophe' - live updates |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| 8.18am BST08:18 | |
| Merkel says she wants Britain to continue to be an “active partner in a strong EU”. | |
| Britain needs to figure out itself what role it wants to play in Europe, she says. | |
| 8.15am BST08:15 | |
| Merkel is now talking about the eurozone. France and Germany will be pushing for the coordination of economic policies within the current treaties – to boost competitiveness and jobs, she says. This means more structural reforms by member states. | |
| 8.08am BST08:08 | |
| 8.07am BST08:07 | |
| The EU summit will address immigration policy, she says, particularly the “tragedies” in the Mediterranean. Thousands of migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean in recent months, and thousands of others have been rescued. | |
| 8.04am BST08:04 | |
| After a brief mic malfunction, Merkel is speaking now. | |
| 8.01am BST08:01 | |
| Angela Merkel addresses German parliament | |
| German chancellor Angela Merkel is due to give a statement on next week’s EU summit in the German parliament shortly. You can watch it live here. | |
| Updated at 8.09am BST | |
| 7.57am BST07:57 | |
| French finance minister: Grexit would be a catastrophe | |
| French finance minister Michel Sapin has set the tone for today’s meeting by warning it would be a “total catastrophe” for Greece if Athens left the eurozone. | |
| France was doing all it could to find a deal, he told the France Info radio, adding: | |
| “We will fight till the end to find an agreement with Greece.” | |
| Updated at 8.01am BST | |
| 7.50am BST07:50 | |
| Europe’s stock markets are expected to fall again today, extending recent losses, as investors watch the Greece crisis play out. | |
| Here’s the pre-market predictions: | |
| Last night, Fed chief Janet Yellen warned there will be “spillover effects” across the financial markets if the Greek crisis ends badly. | |
| Michael Hewson of CMC Markets confirms that hopes for today’s meeting aren’t high: | |
| Today’s Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg has been touted as the “last chance saloon” for Greece to agree a deal in time for the end of June. | |
| Regrettably the meeting is likely to come and go without any deal given that Greek officials have refused to submit any fresh proposals, and Greek Prime Minister is jetting off to Russia to see President Putin, which means we may well get some talks over the weekend. | |
| In a sign of how bad things have got the Greek central bank broke with convention and abandoned its neutrality by criticising its incumbent government for the policies it was implementing, in a sign of the fissures opening up in the Greek establishment. | |
| Updated at 7.53am BST | |
| 7.40am BST07:40 | 7.40am BST07:40 |
| Introduction: Eurogroup meets, but hopes aren't high | Introduction: Eurogroup meets, but hopes aren't high |
| Good morning. | Good morning. |
| Finance ministers from across the eurozone are heading to Luxembourg today to discuss Greece, which has less than a fortnight to reach a deal with creditors before its bailout expires. | Finance ministers from across the eurozone are heading to Luxembourg today to discuss Greece, which has less than a fortnight to reach a deal with creditors before its bailout expires. |
| Hopes of a breakthrough are desperately low, though, despite fears of looming capital controls and Greece’s membership of the EU now at stake. | Hopes of a breakthrough are desperately low, though, despite fears of looming capital controls and Greece’s membership of the EU now at stake. |
| Today’s Eurogroup meeting had been inked in as the moment where Europe could rubber stamp a deal; instead, it could be another missed opportunity to make progress. | Today’s Eurogroup meeting had been inked in as the moment where Europe could rubber stamp a deal; instead, it could be another missed opportunity to make progress. |
| Both sides expect the other to make the next move, to close the gap between the measures Greece is prepare to take in return for bailout aid, and what creditors demand. Athens insistence that debt relief is needed - and Europe’s reluctance to address this - mean it could be a short discussion. | Both sides expect the other to make the next move, to close the gap between the measures Greece is prepare to take in return for bailout aid, and what creditors demand. Athens insistence that debt relief is needed - and Europe’s reluctance to address this - mean it could be a short discussion. |
| And without a deal very soon, Greece will simply be unable to repay the IMF the €1.6bn it owes on June 30. | And without a deal very soon, Greece will simply be unable to repay the IMF the €1.6bn it owes on June 30. |
| Today's @guardian on #Greece: "can't pay, won't pay", and the striking numbers on unemployment, cuts pic.twitter.com/eDXt3SQ98S | Today's @guardian on #Greece: "can't pay, won't pay", and the striking numbers on unemployment, cuts pic.twitter.com/eDXt3SQ98S |
| Last night, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis told ITN News he doesn’t expect a deal today, even though time is desperately short. | Last night, Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis told ITN News he doesn’t expect a deal today, even though time is desperately short. |
| “This is the 11th hour.” | “This is the 11th hour.” |
| “The only sensible proposals on the table at the moment are those that we have tabled. The other side have not come to the party,” | “The only sensible proposals on the table at the moment are those that we have tabled. The other side have not come to the party,” |
| The other side, though, insist that it’s Greece’s move in this long-running saga. | The other side, though, insist that it’s Greece’s move in this long-running saga. |
| The meeting takes place this afternoon, but we should hear from ministers through the morning as they make their way to the meeting. | The meeting takes place this afternoon, but we should hear from ministers through the morning as they make their way to the meeting. |
| We’re also watching out for comments from Angela Merkel this morning, when she addresses MPs in Berlin. | We’re also watching out for comments from Angela Merkel this morning, when she addresses MPs in Berlin. |
| #grexit merkel delivers govt statement to bundestag thur morn on next week's eu summit. she always does that on summit day, not a week early | #grexit merkel delivers govt statement to bundestag thur morn on next week's eu summit. she always does that on summit day, not a week early |
| We will be tracking all the key developments through the day... | We will be tracking all the key developments through the day... |
| Updated at 7.43am BST | Updated at 7.43am BST |