European Commission

By Jan Strupczewski & Renee Maltezou

Greece's international creditors will put their own final proposal for a cash-for-reform deal to avert a Greek default to eurozone finance ministers for approval on Thursday after Athens let a deadline pass, eurozone officials said.

"If Greece says 'no go' now, it could be the final straw," one senior European official said.

Croatian governments have long been announcing a new start to construction of the Peljesac Bridge, a key communications structure that would circumvent Bosnia's short coastline and connect the southern Dubrovnik region with the rest of Croatia. 

By Eleni Varvitsiotis

Greece and its creditors were locked in tough negotiations in Brussels on Thursday morning as an ultimatum issued by the institutions called for a staff level agreement to be reached by 11 a.m. Brussels time, a senior European official told Kathimerini.

By Elisa Martinuzzi

If Greece were to leave the euro it ?wouldn?t be the end of the eurozone? although it would present a tough test for the region, said Commerzbank AG Chief Executive Officer Martin Blessing.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras left talks at the European Commission with representatives of the institutions shortly after 1 a.m. on Thursday with no agreement between the Greek delegation and lenders.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was due to be locked in talks on Wednesday night with key European officials after Greece?s lenders submitted new proposals for measures to unlock 7.2 billion euros in bailout funds that Athens dismissed as being unacceptable.

Austria said on June 24 it might be forced to re-instate border controls between it and its European Union neighbor Hungary in response to Budapest refusing to take in asylum seekers sent to it from other EU states. 

The EU Council, which met in Luxembourg on Tuesday, urged Macedonia's sparring leaders to focus on resolving the country's ongoing political crisis and start implementing a set of urgent reforms.

By Mike Dolan

By invoking a Greek euro exit as a possible outcome of failed bailout negotiations, European governments have effectively rewritten a key tenet of the shared currency - and maybe even for the better.