Greece emergency summit seeks to keep country in eurozone

Markets surged on Monday on hopes that eurozone leaders gathered for a last-ditch summit on Greece would reach a breakthrough that might keep the country from defaulting on its debt and falling out of the currency union.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras presented the leaders of Germany, France and the European Union over the weekend with a proposal "for a mutually beneficial agreement, which will provide a permanent solution."

Investors were hopeful that it represented a long-awaited compromise. The Athens stock index was up eightper cent while Stoxx 50 of top European shares was 3.3 per cent higher.

Greece and its international creditors, which count the eurozone states and the International Monetary Fund, have been discussing for over four months what economic reforms the country should make before it gets new loans. Greece needs money soon as it faces a June 30 debt repayment it cannot afford.

The contents of the new offer have not yet been officially divulged, but Greek officials say it acquiesces to some of the demands from Greece's EU and IMF lenders for tax hikes, curbing early retirement and other spending cuts to ensure Athens hitsbudget targets.

In Brussels, European Union officials said Greece is offering to raise the retirement age gradually to 67 and makevalue-added tax reforms.

Before leaders gather on Monday evening, eurozone finance ministers will also gather in Brussels to pore over the details of Greece's proposal and confirm whether it meets the demands of creditors.

Amid the uncertainty over Greece's future, Greeks have been taking their cash from banks in large amounts. Some two billion euros was withdrawn over three days last week.

"Everyone's going (to the banks) to take money," Yannis Nikolopoulos said in Athens. He said people are taking "some money to have at home for 10, 15 days say 1,000, 500 euros because if the banks shut it'll be a problem to go shopping and that sort of thing."

'Otherwise we're doomed'

He said that a deal between Greece and its creditors "is mandatory at all costs, otherwise we're doomed."

Vassiliki Papanagiotou, a lawyer in Athens, urged "prudence on both sides," warning that "otherwise Greece will collapse."

Over the past weeks, the international creditors have often complained that detailed Greek proposals on what kind of reforms they would implement to secure the international bailout have been too slow to come and far too vague.

The new government's different approach to the country's bailout program essentially denying the need for budget austerity measures which it blames for devastating the economy has often stretched the talks near breaking point.

About 5,000 people attended a pro-government rally in central Athens Sunday night. Pro-EU forces will gather Monday evening outside the Greek parliament.