Greece is facing a fateful choice from its eurozone partners: either agree to drastic economic overhauls and budget cuts over the next few days or leave the single currency.

On Sunday night eurozone leaders meeting in Brussels for another extraordinary summit were finalising their last-chance offer to the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras as a condition for starting talks on a new rescue deal. A eurozone offer would insist that strict measures should be rushed through the Greek parliament by Wednesday.

The proposals on the table call for measures including new laws on the VAT and pension systems, the reform of bankruptcy rules, the privatisation of electricity transmission, and strengthening the independence of Greece’s statistics office before bailout talks can even begin. A particularly controversial suggestion is for €50bn in Greek assets to handed in escrow to eurozone authorities, and sold off if Athens fails to meet its reform promises.

Pushing the proposals through the Greek parliament would require Mr Tspiras to rely on opposition groups, as around 25 members from his own party are expected to vote against his perceived U-turn on austerity.

Angela Merkel has been a particular target on Twitter (AFP)

The leaders at the summit were still hammering out the details of a potential offer. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel seemed to speak for many countries when she warned that Mr Tsipras had squandered the goodwill of almost all his eurozone partners. “The most important currency has been lost and that is trust,” she said on the way into the summit. “There will be hard talks, and not unity at any price. We must be sure to weigh the pros and cons.”

While Mr Tsipras’s bailout request last week was almost identical to the one he campaigned against in last weekend’s referendum, the conclusion most leaders drew was not that the Prime Minister was coming round to their viewpoint, but rather that he could not be trusted.

Some countries rallied around a plan, tabled by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, for a temporary Greek exit from the euro – which would allow Greece to restructure its debt without violating eurozone rules. The “time-out” of about five years was included in one draft version of the summit conclusions, although it was in brackets. It said: “In case no agreement could be reached, Greece should be offered swift negotiations on a time-out from the euro area, with possible debt restructuring.

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble tabled a plan for a temporary Greek exit from the euro (AP)

The German plan offers another equally extreme option: transferring the legal ownership of state assets worth €50bn (£36bn) to a Luxembourg-based Institution for Growth in Greece, an effective escrow arrangement. Mr Tspiras is resisting this proposal, with officials describing it as an attempt to turn Greece into a eurozone vassal or protectorate.

Mr Tsipras sounded upbeat before the summit, telling reporters, “I am here, ready for an honest compromise.” He was buoyed by a softening of tone by some countries: the hawkish Finnish Finance Minister Alex Stubb, who was adamant on Saturday after the reportedly fractious eurozone ministers’ meeting that the only solution was a Greek exit from the euro, said: “I think there’s a very good proposal on the table.”

The Belgian Finance Minister Johan van Overtveldt said the ministers agreed on 90 per cent of a Greek solution. Another hawk, the Austrian Finance Minister Hans Jörg Schelling, admitted that Greek exit from the Eurozone “is off the table for now”.

The French President François Hollande was also hopeful. “France will do everything it can to ensure Greece can stay in,” he said. Mr Hollande dismissed the euro time-out. “There is no such thing as temporary Grexit.”

The leading historian Simon Schama said he believed that Germany’s demands on Greece were “the beginning of the end” for the European Union.

In pictures: Greek referendum Show all 28 1 /28 In pictures: Greek referendum In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum People celebrate in Athens after the first exit-polls of the Greek referendum Getty Images In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum A "No" supporter flashes a victory sign before a Greek flag atop the parliament in Athens, Greece July 5, 2015.Greeks voted overwhelmingly "No" on Sunday in a historic bailout referendum, partial results showed, defying warnings from across Europe that rejecting new austerity terms for fresh financial aid would set their country on a path out of the euro. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Supporters of the No vote react after the first results of the referendum at Syntagma square in Athens AP In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Supporters of the No vote wave Greek flags after the referendum's exit polls at Syntagma square in Athens AP In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis casts his vote in the country's referendum EPA In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum A ballot box is emptied by a voting official at the closing of polling stations in Athens, Greece July 5, 2015. Greece voted on Sunday on whether to accept more austerity in exchange for international aid, in a high-stakes referendum likely to determine whether it leaves the euro-currency area after seven years of economic pain. REUTERS/Marko Djurica In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum A photographer photographs a man waiting to vote in the referendum at a school in the suburbs of Athens Getty In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Greek voters are being asked to choose between backing their creditor's austerity measures or rejecting them Getty In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Tourists walk past posters with slogans that read “OXI“ (NO) and “NAI“ (YES) ahead of the referendum in Athens AFP In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Opposition parties to Syriza, including the centre-right New Democracy, are campaigning for a ‘Yes’ vote in the referendum Reuters In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Protesters on both sides of the argument ('No' pictured here) have rallied in Athens AP In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has been branded reckless and a feckless liar by EU leaders Reuters In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum According to polls which surveyed some 1000 people across the country, 41.5 percent of Greeks would support the new bailout measures to avoid an exit from the Eurozone AP In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Despite Tsipras's assurances, many Greek people are not certain whether Sunday’s referendum is a vote on whether Greece will remain in the euro or not Reuters In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum The Greek and EU flags flutter in front of the ancient Acropolis hill in Athens. The Greek people have been called upon to show “calm and national unity” Getty In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras addresses a crowd of 25,000 'No' supporters in Athens' Syntagma Square YANNIS BEHRAKIS/Reuters In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Greece’s Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gave a televised address to the nation ahead of the vote. He has called on voters to reject creditors’ proposals for more austerity in return for rescue loans AP In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Protesters march holding a torn European Union flag during a demonstration for the 'NO' campaign in Thessaloniki Getty Images In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Greek Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has pledged to resign if his country votes “yes” to the bailout plan Reuters In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Pensioner wait to get their pensions outside a National Bank of Greece branch in central Athens. Banks only opened for pensioners to allow them to get their pensions, with a limit of 120 euros. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Protesters attend an anti-austerity pro-government rally in front of the parliament building Getty In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum The possibility of Greece leaving the Eurozone is increasing by the day. Merchandise already exists to accompany the event EPA In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum An elderly man waits to receive his pension outside the closed National Bank of Greece headquarters in Athens AP In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum People stand in a queue to use an ATM outside a closed bank in Athens AP In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum A banner supporting the NO vote in the upcoming referendum hangs from the offices of the Greek Finance Ministry Getty Images In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Greeks will be asked whether they accept the austerity terms demanded by the country's creditors Getty In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Eurozone finance ministers expressed disappointment at the Greek decision to hold a referendum on the bailout terms Getty In pictures: Greek referendum Greece EU Referendum Alexis Tsipras, the Greek Prime Minister, said bailout conditions had ‘asphyxiated’ his country EPA

He said while the No vote in Greece’s referendum on austerity last week had been a Pyrrhic victory for the Syriza leader, his apparent capitulation to the demands of the Germany Chancellor amounted to the same thing for her.

“If Tsipras was wearing the crown of King Pyrrhus this time last week, Merkel is wearing it now. Her ultimatum beginning of end of EU,” he tweeted.

“Watch for profound psychological divisions to develop within EU: north-south; the surplus states and the beleaguered periphery.

“Punitive accounting will be felt, rightly or wrongly, as a kind of imperial occupation and no good for Europe will come of it.”

The hashtag, #ThisIsACoup, was trending on Twitter across Europe on Sunday night as people voiced their outrage at the terms offered to Greece. It was the top term in Greece and Germany, second worldwide and also featured in the top ten lists for the UK, France, Italy and Spain.

Martin Ellis-Hall tweeted: “How many British Pro Europeans are changing their minds about #Brexit ,I am for sure #ThisIsACoup.”

Mick Hannigan said: “Democracy, that's out! European unity, that's out! Economic management, that's out! #ThisIsACoup”

Anna Giouleka wrote: “Stop this madness before nationalists take 100% advantage of it and you have a new Ukraine #ThisIsACoup.”