Greece makes 11th-hour reform offer to avoid default

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras made a new offer on reforms to foreign creditors yesterday, signaling 11th-hour concessions to break a deadlock pushing Greece to the brink of bankruptcy.

French President Francois Hollande confirmed Greece had submitted new proposals. EU diplomats said the proposal had not arrived but representatives of European and IMF creditors were set to meet yesterday to discuss it.

It was not immediately clear how far the new proposal yielded to creditors’ demands for cuts and tax hikes.

Mr Tsipras was holed up yesterday in a marathon cabinet meeting and discussed the new offer with the leaders of Germany, France and the European Commission by phone. “The prime minister presented the three leaders [with] Greece’s proposal for a mutually beneficial agreement that will give a definitive solution and not a postponement of addressing the problem,” a statement from his office said.

Ms Merkel’s Bavarian allies warned against giving in to Greece, with senior Christian Social Union MP Hans Michelbach saying he saw no realistic chance of an agreement today.