Greece submits bailout plan to creditors

Greece submitted a proposal Tuesday for an agreement with its bailout creditors, as the country continues to seek a deal that will unlock desperately needed rescue money.

Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras said it was now up to the leaders of Europe, who are Greece's main creditors, to accept a deal or risk potentially disastrous consequences for the region.

Without more rescue loans, Greece could default on its debts this month and eventually even drop out of Europe's currency bloc.

“We have made concessions, because a compromise requires concessions. We know these concessions will be difficult but we have submitted a realistic plan for Greece's exit from the crisis,” Tspiras said.

For four months, Greece and its creditors have been locked in a standoff over what reforms the country needs to make to receive more loans.

Tsipras gave no specifics of what was included in the proposal, which was submitted Monday night to the European Central Bank (ECB), International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Commission, the EU's executive.

His comments came the morning after the leaders of Germany, France, the IMF, ECB and European Commission held an emergency meeting about Greece in Berlin. It was unclear whether Greece had submitted its proposal before the leaders met.

According to a German government statement, the five pledged to work “with great intensity” to seek a solution.

Time is of the essence. Greece must repay a total of about $1.8 billion to the IMF this month, with the first installment of $334 million due this Friday.

It is uncertain whether Greece has the money to pay Friday's debt unless it gets a deal with creditors to receive $8 billion more in rescue loans, the last installment from its five-year bailout program.

Greece has survived without bailout loans since last summer. In the meantime, it has scraped together reserves from state enterprises, including embassies abroad and schools, and has so far managed to repay its debts.

The Associated Press