Greek proposals for a cash-for-reform deal which would avert a default were yesterday welcomed by eurozone leaders as a positive step forward, but the move came too late in the day for a decisive breakthrough at an emergency summit last night.

Consequently eurozone finance ministers agreed to meet again this week, probably tomorrow, to assess the feasibility of the proposals following technical studies.

If deemed feasible, these measures would be presented for the approval of 28 EU leaders who on Thursday and Friday will be convening in Brussels for the European Council.

Leaders from the 19 eurozone countries met to discuss the way forward as Greece teetered on the brink of defaulting on payments to its creditors by the end of this month.

Athens needs to secure a deal to be able to receive the remaining €7.2 billion as part of its bailout programme agreed with the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Eurozone countries. In turn this would allow it to avoid defaulting on a €1.6 billion repayment to the IMF due at the end of June.

Asked for his reaction soon after talks were over at about 11pm, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the summit was not a useless exercise, as it had been billed in some quarters, but “a positive step forward”.

“At the end of the day we have a draft which we can take seriously,” he said.

He noted that eurozone leaders were open to consider proposals on the repayment terms for the Greek debt and the period during which no interest would be charged on this debt, among other things.

The possibility of postponing crucial talks to the forthcoming European Council could overshadow important discussions on migration which are of special interest to Malta.

At the end of the day we have a draft which we can take seriously

Reacting to such concerns, the Prime Minister expressed hope that by the start of the summit an agreement on the Greek problem would be on the cards, which would allow more time for the issue of migration to be discussed.

Reports yesterday said Greece had proposed a gradual rise in retirement age to 67 and an upward revision of Value Added Tax to 23 per cent, with the exception of energy, basic food products, medicine and books.

Earlier, Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem told a news conference: “We will work very hard in the next few days, the institutions with the Greek government, to get that deal this week.”

He described the Greek document as comprehensive and “a basis to really restart the talks” but said it remained to be seen whether the numbers added up to make Athens’ public finances sustainable.

Protesters occupy the Greek parliament grounds, during a rally calling on the government to clinch a deal with its international creditors and secure Greece's future in the eurozone. Photo: Paul Hanna/Reuters

EU Economy Commissioner Pierre Moscovici described the Greek proposals as “a solid, and at last global, basis” for negotiations, but acknowledged there was more work to be done.

Commenting at the end of the eurozone finance ministers meeting in the afternoon, Finance Minister Edward Scicluna expressed disappointment that little progress had been registered.

Sources said there was great anger among finance ministers in Brussels over the fact that Greece had not gone far enough to come up with decent proposals on time. Though it was supposed to present its proposals by not later than midnight on Sunday, it then submitted “revised” proposals yesterday morning.

Speaking ahead of the talks, the finance minister had thrown cold water on a possible clear cut solution. “Even if Greece is given all the money it is requesting, it would still need some €5 billion or €6 billion till the end of the year. The story does not end here,” he told reporters.

Asked whether this had become as case of throwing away good money after bad, he said that would be a political judgement which only EU leaders could make.

(Additional reporting by Reuters)