Greece- EU crisis talks end with Greek reform pledge - "but patience of EU could be running out"

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras assured European Union creditors at late-night crisis talks in Brussels that his leftist-led coalition would soon present a full set of economic reforms in order to unlock cash to stave off bankruptcy.

After two months of mounting frustration on both sides since Tsipras was elected with a mandate to end years of austerity imposed by creditors’ conditions, the three-hour meeting on the sidelines of an EU summit was requested by Tsipras to break an impasse that risks seeing Athens stumble out of the euro zone.

But while a joint statement by the EU institutions spoke of a “spirit of mutual trust” and Tsipras said he left feeling more optimistic, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed no money would be released before Athens implements budget measures and other reforms that it has so far been reluctant to consent to.

Note EU-Digest: patience in the EU could be running out if Greece is not able or willing to understand that their economy is completely riddled as a result of a top heavy and overpaid civil service sector, corruption at every level, a tax system which does not work and a government which believes they can "call the shots" on the rest of Europe. Greece better wake-up and smell the roses.

Read more on Greece Europe - EU crisis talks end with Greek reform pledge - France 24

Business: Wait a sec – your decision will be better for it - by Harvey Schachter

 From the tennis court to the board room, patience helps. That’s the conclusion drawn by Frank Portnoy, a procrastinator who decided to explore whether that trait was hurting him; and by actor/writer John Cleese, of Monty Python fame, who now counsels executives.

At this year’s Cannes International Festival of Creativity, Mr. Cleese offered four lessons in creativity, as Rae Ann Fera reports at FastCoCreate.com. In his June presentation, Mr. Cleese talked about Sussex University Professor Brian Bates, who compared the work practices of the most creative and least creative architects, and found the former more willing to defer decisions as long as they could.

“If you have a decision to make, what is the single most important question to ask yourself?” Mr. Cleese told the audience. “I believe it’s ‘When does this decision have to be made?’ When most of us have a problem that’s a little bit unresolved, we’re a little bit uncomfortable. We want to resolve it. The creative architects had this tolerance for this discomfort we all feel when we leave things unresolved.”

Read more: Wait a sec – your decision will be better for it - The Globe and Mail