The German government has reportedly called for Greece to hand control over its finances to the European Union, in what would be an unprecedented expansion of Brussels' power.
The German plan would see a eurozone 'budget commissioner' given the power to decide Athens' tax and spending, in order for the embattled country to receive a second €130 billion (£109 billion) bail-out.
The proposed power grab would likely be highly controversial. As the birthplace of democracy, Athens would no doubt chafe against ceding its sovereignty to an unelected government.
Voters in Greece have already expressed anger about EU moves to intervene in its reform process, and any proposal to surrender yet more powers to Brussels could prompt further protests.
Under the extraordinary extension of European control, the commissioner would be able to veto decisions taken by the Greek government if they were not in line with targets set by international lenders.
According to reports, the proposal, which highlights the deep level of mistrust between Greece and other EU countries, was circulated to finance ministry officials from the eurozone countries yesterday afternoon.
'Given the disappointing compliance so far, Greece has to accept shifting budgetary sovereignty to the European level for a certain period of time," the document reportedly says. "Budget consolidation has to be put under a strict steering and control system."
The German plan comes after months of worsening relationships between EU member states and Greece. The appointment of economist Lucas Papademos as technocratic prime minister in November has not helped improve attitudes towards the financially stricken country.
The proposal comes amid intense talks to finalise the second rescue package for Greece, which has repeatedly failed to meet the fiscal targets set out for it by its international lenders.
Greece first needs to strike a deal with its private sector creditors in the next couple of days to unlock its next aid package and avoid a chaotic default. If it does not receive fresh aid, Greece could default as early as March, when bonds totalling €14.5 billion (£12.2 billion) are due.
Under the proposal, Athens would only be allowed to carry out normal state spending after servicing its debt. Creditors could be assured that defaults would not occur in future.
'If a future (bail-out) tranche is not disbursed, Greece cannot threaten its lenders with a default, but will instead have to accept further cuts in primary expenditures as the only possible consequence of any non-disbursement,' the Financial Times quotes the document as saying.
Athens has not yet responded to the proposal. A senior Greek finance ministry official said it was unaware of the plan and so was not able to comment.
'No country has put forward such a proposal at the Eurogroup,' a Greek finance ministry official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the government would not formally comment on reports based on unnamed sources.
