Athens, Greece (BBN)-Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called for the European Union to avoid division, as indebted Greece struggles to stay in the euro.
In a sometimes stormy debate in the European Parliament, he said: “Let’s not let Europe be divided”.
Greece must present new proposals by the end of Thursday to reach a deal with creditors, before a full European Union summit on Sunday.
Mr Tsipras said proposals were being worked on but failed to give details.
The Greek prime minister said he was “confident” that Greece could meet “its obligations in the interests of Greece and the eurozone” over the next few days.
He was greeted by both boos and cheers as he entered the chamber, where he criticised previous bailouts for turning Greece into an “austerity laboratory”.
“However, this experiment, I think all of us have to accept, has not been a success,” he told the parliament in Strasbourg.
Mr Tsipras was speaking only days after the Greek people decisively rejected the latest proposals from creditors in a referendum.
The Greek people “stood up and were counted – we have to listen to what they said.”
Greece’s creditors – the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the IMF – had expected Greece to submit fresh plans on Tuesday but none were tabled.
Addressing the same debate, European Council President Donald Tusk told MEPs there were only “four days left” for agreement to be reached.
In Brussels, Greece has been given an ultimatum: either there will be a deal, or Greece and its banks face the prospect of going bust on Monday, the BBC’s Chris Morris reports.
EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici told the BBC’s Today programme that Europe wanted to stop Greece falling out of the euro.
“The Commission does not want a Grexit. Grexit would be a terrible failure and we are fighting to avoid it.”
But, first, he said proposals must come from the Greek side.
“They know what they have to do, they know what we expect”.
Crisis countdown
Thursday 9 July: deadline for Greece to submit proposals
Saturday 11 July: eurozone finance ministers meet
Sunday 12 July: all 28 members of the European Union meet to decide Greece’s fate
Monday 20 July: €3bn payment due from Greece to the European Central Bank
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Greece’s banks have been shut since its last international bailout programme expired last Tuesday.
Capital controls have been imposed, with people unable to withdraw more than €60 (£43; $66) a day from cash machines.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has refused to increase emergency lending.

BBN/SK/AD