Greece will request a new European bailout by Wednesday as it runs short of time to prevent a deepening financial crisis forcing it out of the euro.
Greek officials are meeting their counterparts from around Europe for a series of meetings Tuesday, but the 11th hour efforts could be too late.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel confirmed that the clock is running down fast as she arrived for talks in Brussels.
“It’s not a matter of weeks, we have only a few days,” Merkel told reporters.
Greece needs cash — fast. Its banks have been shut for a week, and cash withdrawals have been capped. It has pension payments to make.
Greeks voted overwhelmingly to reject Europe’s most recent offer of help in a referendum on Sunday. Europe had been pushing Greece for more spending cuts and tax increases. Greeks want a new bailout deal to include easier terms and the cancellation of some of their debt.
Once negotiations begin, it’s far from clear that the two sides will be able to agree terms on a new bailout, which would be Greece’s third since 2010.
Related: Why Greeks voted ‘no’
Other countries using the euro have already stumped up billions in emergency loans for Greece over the past five years, and they worry about throwing good money after bad.
Finance ministers from Finland and Slovakia made clear that canceling more Greek debt — following a similar exercise in 2012 — was unacceptable.
“Debt relief is the most delicate issues for the majority of countries,” said Slovak finance minister Peter Kazimir. “For my country, it’s a red line.”
Related: Europe’s time to decide: Save Greece or not?
Both sides say they want the same thing — to stop Greece becoming the first country to crash out of the 16-year old currency.
At the very least, Greece needs a strong statement from Europe Tuesday that there’s a chance of a deal. Otherwise, the European Central Bank will keep a lid on funding for Greek banks, and events will spiral out of control.
The banks would remain shut. The peak tourist season would be at risk. Officials may have little choice but to start printing IOUs to pay public sector wages and pensions, perhaps as early as next week. The dreaded “Grexit” scenario of Greece dumping the euro and printing drachma would loom large.
“While this scenario would not immediately mean Grexit… Athens would clearly be on a trajectory towards leaving the eurozone,” noted analysts at Teneo Intelligence.
