Tsipras takes on European Union in Brussels

As the European Central Bank (ECB) continued to pressure Greece to extend its 240-billion euro ($272 billion) deal with international creditors on Thursday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told EU leaders that austerity would kill his economy.

Though Wednesday's emergency meeting of the eurozone's 19 finance ministers failed to yield a plan of action on Greece's debt deal, which runs out at the end of February, markets remain buoyant on the hopes that the country could reach an agreement in time to avoid dropping the currency.

"I am very confident we will find a mutually viable solution in order to heal the wounds of austerity, to tackle the humanitarian crisis across the European Union and to bring Europe back to the road of growth and social cohesion," Tsipras said on Thursday as he arrived at the summit.

Led by Germany, eurozone countries announced that they would continue discussions only if Greece extended the program. Authorities plan to hold talks with representatives of the EU, the International Monetary Fund and the ECB, according to Luxembourg's Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna.

The euro jumped in late trading Wednesday, amid reports on progress in Brussels - but was still trading around the $1.13 mark when the markets shut. Greece entered the talks demanding a bridging loan to cover its shortfalls while it negotiates a less austere economic plan with its creditors, whereas the EU wants Athens tightly bound to its previous agreements, with an extension of its current bailout program.

Under Tsipras, Greece has also demanded that Germany pay reparations for the Nazi occupation of the country during World War II. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has rejected that idea.

'The European rules'

The election of Tsipras and Syriza - both cleared a vote of confidence in Greece's parliament early Wednesday - has led to mass fears across the eurozone that Greece could drop the currency in favor of self-rule rather than giving in to the whims of international creditors. The new government won a mandate to drastically reduce the burden of Greece's aid and the associated budget austerity measures, which Tsipras blames in large part for the country's economic woes.

"We will need to find a solution that respects the positions of all parties, so this agreement will have to be based on the core values of Europe, democracy and the vote of the people, but also on the necessity to respect the European rules," Tsipras said on Thursday.

Greece's economy decreased by a quarter since before the fallout, and poverty and unemployment remain swollen. Debts that stand at about 175 percent of gross domestic product continue to nag Greece, and the country will not likely manage repayments this year without outside help.

mkg/rc (Reuters, AFP, dpa, AP)