Ball in EU's court, says Tsipras

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Monday it was now up to European authorities to find a debt deal to save Athens from default, after the government submitted a reform plan to Brussels.

"The ball is in the court of the European authorities," radical leftist leader Tsipras told reporters after an emergency eurozone summit in Brussels.

"Our proposal has been accepted as the basis for discussion by the institutions," he said, referring to Greece's creditors, the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund.

"Negotiations will continue over the next two days. We don't want a fragmented deal that is only for a limited time. We want a complete and viable solution."

Tsipras, who was elected in January, has balked at demands by Greece's creditors for further austerity measures in exchange for the release of more bailout funds to avoid defautling on an IMF payment on June 30.

"For the first time the burden will not lie on workers and pensioners. We are protecting middle class families and for the first time the burden will lie on those who can pay, so we can finally leave this crisis which has afflicted us for five years."

Eurozone leaders said after Monday's emergency summit that they were finally moving towards a deal on Greece, but that there was more work to do.

[AFP]