Arriving at a two-day EU Summit in Brussels this afternoon, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was all smiles. He says he’s optimistic Eurogroup
ADVERTISEMENTArriving at a two-day EU Summit in Brussels this afternoon, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was all smiles.
He says he’s optimistic Eurogroup finance ministers will eventually reach an agreement on the Greek debt crisis.
“I think that European history is full of disagreements, negotiations and in the end, compromises,” he told reporters as he arrived at the meeting. “So after the comprehensive Greek proposals, I’m confident that we will reach a compromise that will help eurozone and Greece overcome the crisis.”
However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she felt negotiations were “slipping backwards” and other leaders were also cautious.
Commission President Jean-Claude Junker, vowed to fight on.
“We haven’t reached the point yet where I could say that we have an agreement, but I will work until the last minute, until the last second, until the last millisecond, in order to protect the euro-project from failing.”
Greece is dominating headlines, but leaders have other topics on the agenda – significantly a proposal to impose mandatory quotas regarding the number of migrants member states must accept.
euronews’ James Franey was at the European Council on Thursday (June 25).
“More than 200,000 migrants crossed the Mediterranean last year and some rights groups say the EU’s plan doesn’t go far enough. With the weak economic outlook and the rise of anti-immigration parties across Europe, it seems to be a step that EU-leaders are unwilling to take.”