He noted that the referendum was “neither factually or legally correct” as Greeks were voting on proposals that had not been formally endorsed by the eurogroup of finance ministers and on a bailout programme that had expired.
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Greeks voted resoundingly on Sunday to reject the austerity terms of a bailout with worldwide creditors, prompting European Council President Donald Tusk to call a euro zone summit on Tuesday.
“To negotiate now the European Commission needs a mandate from the Eurogroup” of eurozone finance miniseters, he said.
“I personally see no mechanism how Greek banks could reopen tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, and how the situation could be rectified”, said Straujuma.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande have discussed the outcome of the referendum, and have agreed the “No” vote must be respected.
The Hague: Eurogroup Chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said today the results of Greece’s resounding “No” to further austerity measures has brought Europe “no closer to a solution” to Athens’ financial situation. “The Spanish government is open to these negotiations”, he said. Trade would seize up, residents would lose access to their savings and Greece’s ability to continue using the euro would fall into serious doubt.
From 5 p.m.in Brussels, or 11 a.m. Eastern, eurozone leaders will start to arrive for a euro summit, where they will also discuss what’s next for Greece.
Earlier last week, Dijsselbloem warned Greece that it was likely to “have no place in the eurozone” if the “No” vote prevailed in Sunday’s referendum.
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Greece’s radical left-wing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who called for a “No”, insisted afterwards the result did not mean a “rupture” with Europe.
