Following a day of talks in Brussels aimed at finding a way out of months of bitter deadlock, European leaders were scathing in their assessments of Greece's proposals, calling them inadequate and demanding that the Greek government return with a detailed plan by Friday morning. The leaders of all 28 European Union members will then meet on Sunday in what officials said would be the final chance to save Greece from economic oblivion.
E.U. leaders expressed anger that Greek officials offered only oral proposals, rather than presenting a detailed written plan to address concerns about the country's debt crisis.
"The stark reality is that we only have five days to find the ultimate agreement," said a visibly irritated European Council President Donald Tusk, the former prime minister of Poland. "Until now I have avoided talking about deadlines. But tonight I have to say it loud and clear — the final deadline ends this week."
E.U. officials informed the Greek delegation that the Sunday summit would be held to approve a plan to aid Greece as long as creditors are satisfied with Greek reform commitments.
"The ball is in Greece's court, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi told reporters after the meeting. "Next Sunday, the final meeting will take place on Greece."
The comments came after Greece's failure to present a formal proposal appeared to deal a setback to attempts at salvaging the country's financial rescue before its banks run out of cash.
The surprise twist further complicated Greece's last-ditch effort to renew the flow of European funds and keep the country from slipping deeper into financial chaos, which could lead to an exit from the common currency.
Greece's government had been widely expected to present a new plan to finance ministers at the Brussels summit, held just days after a Sunday referendum in which Greek voters emphatically rejected Europe's latest bailout proposal. One of the key elements in that plan was deeper cuts to state pensions.
[Greek finance minister exits with parting shots]
But instead of a formal blueprint, Greece's new finance minister, Euclid Tsakalotos, spoke from hand-written notes about his country's intentions to rein in costs and prop up its creaky fiscal underpinnings.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of euro zone finance ministers, said it was "too early to say" whether the Greek plans were substantive enough to reopen talks.
"In the eyes of the euro group, the problems in Greece do really need credible reforms," he said. "And, therefore, we need to hear from the Greek government whether they have such reforms in mind."
Now, the euro group must wait until Wednesday when finance ministers will convene again via conference call. Greece's prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, also is due to address the European Parliament on Wednesday morning.
"Time is very short, and more so as we go on," Dijsselbloem said.
[Designer bag in the hand worth more to some than cash in the bank]
After several hours of closed-doors talks Tuesday, the finance ministers emerged to report disappointment at the lack of progress even as Greek banks struggle just to keep their ATMs stocked with the bare minimum of cash.
No specific details of Tsakalotos's presentation were made public. But a photo gave a clue of the tone. Tsakalotos held notes, written on hotel stationery, which included the words "no triumphalism" — an apparent reminder not to gloat after the Sunday vote.
The impasse has the potential to toss Greece from the group of nations sharing the euro, but several top European leaders have pledged to seek every avenue to keep Greece in the common currency and avoid the potential of further cracks in the euro zone.
The Greek leader Tsipras — who called the plebiscite in a gambit to seek leverage in the talks — must now find a way to show Germany and other creditors that he has a credible path to rein in costs and one day repay the massive loans.
[Europe's rebels enthralled by Greek resistance]
"It's not a matter of weeks any more," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel on arrival in Brussels for a dinner meeting on the Greek crisis. "It's a matter of days."
Tsipras, who will also attend the evening session, huddled in advance with Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. It was not clear what officials hoped to achieve at the meeting, which had not been previously announced.
Earlier, a Greek government spokesman said Tsipras spoke by phone with President Obama, who has urged European leaders to try to keep Greece in the euro zone.
The pressure on Greece intensified after the European Central Bank decided Monday not to expand its life support for Greek financial institutions, raising the prospect that they could be out of money by Wednesday absent an ECB reversal. That alone could force Greece off the euro, the common currency of 19 of the European Union's 28 member states.
Greece — with a debt mountain of more than 180 percent of GPD — also owes billions of euros more to its creditors on July 20. Last week, the country became the first developed nation to miss a repayment to the International Monetary Fund.
Ahead of Tuesday's meetings, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said his country would not "take the risk to let Greece exit the euro zone."
But other countries, notably Germany, have taken a harder line, with officials saying that Greece must get serious with its proposals to avoid being tossed out of the currency club. The Slovak finance minister, Peter Kazmir, called the prospect of debt relief — a critical Greek demand — "absolutely impossible."
The delay in receiving a written plan from Greece left some European leaders openly frustrated.
"The Greek government is always 'mañana,''' said Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite.
Belgium's prime minister, Charles Michel, put Tsipras on notice that time is running out.
"If there's nothing on the table and there continues to be nothing on the table, that means Tsipras is not able to honor the demand of the Greek people to stay in the euro zone," Michel said.
Other euro-zone countries with shaky finances, such as Spain and Portugal, are watching to see whether Europe backs down from its tough economic demands in the face of domestic rebellions. That would spark new pressures in those nations. And if Greece is kicked off the euro, the ensuing turmoil might inspire efforts in other nations to quit the currency club.
[7 key things to know about Greece's debt crisis and what happens next]
European stock exchanges were again down sharply on the Greek uncertainty. Wall Street also pointed lower.
Although Tsipras won a resounding mandate Sunday from Greek voters to reject Europe's bailout demands, it remained far from clear Tuesday whether he could convert that victory into a win at the negotiating table.
The ECB left unspecified the timing of the extension of its $98 billion credit line, but it increased the pressure on Greek banks by raising the amount of assets that the banks need to muster as collateral to qualify for the emergency assistance.
The dwindling cash is sucking the life out of businesses such as coffee shops and taxis as anxious Greeks economize amid fears for the future. Greek leaders also banned transfers of money abroad, meaning that very little can be imported.
The rising shortages may speed a deal, some analysts said.
Another factor could be the departure Monday of Yanis Varoufakis as finance minister. His hectoring and combative style during his less than six months in office appeared to anger Greece's European partners.
Named as his replacement was a mild-mannered Oxford-trained economist, Tsakalotos. He has headed Greece's negotiating team since April. Tsakalotos vowed Monday to deliver relief to Greeks, who have suffered from five years of economic pain rivaling the Great Depression.
"People who are poor, middle-aged, unemployed — they said that they trust their government to find a viable solution," he said after being sworn into office.
Ylan Q. Mui in Athens, Stephanie Kirchner in Berlin and Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.
Video: Greeks overwhelmingly voted against a strict bailout package proposed by the E.U. Here is how that affects Greece and the United States. (The Washington Post)
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