Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, told members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg in France on Wednesday: “The proposals we have made to our partners are ones that involve credible reforms with an acceptable degree of burden-sharing, which will not bring recessionary effects with it”. Greece skipped a $1.7 billion payment due to the International Monetary Fund last week, which cuts off further help from that organization.
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A hastily called meeting of eurozone finance ministers is slated for Tuesday afternoon, and a full summit of the leaders of the 19 euro countries was to be held that evening.
“Until now I avoided talking about deadlines, but tonight I have to say it loud and clear – the final deadline ends this week”. “””(Greek) proposals have to be on the table this week”. However, the message that followed yesterday’s meeting of European officials was simple and uncompromising: July 12 will decide Greece’s fate.
And in Brussels, Tsakalotos – who replaced outspoken motorbike-riding predecessor Yanis Varoufakis after he resigned on Monday in a bid to ease the rift with Athens’s creditors – told reporters there had been “progress” at the talks. He will be tested as soon as Tuesday, in Brussels.
In Greece, meanwhile, people were struggling with an eighth day of limits on money withdrawals and closed banks. The ECB has been providing emergency credit to the banks, but on Monday said it could not increase the amount offered because the banks’ collateral was weaker now, after the “no” vote.
Omer Esiner, chief market analyst at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange, said the Fed minutes were less important to markets than normal because of the heightened level of concern regarding Greece and China. But Greeks are holding tightly onto what cash they have.
Banks will run out of cash shortly, banks will therefore become insolvent, and workers will be given IOUs from the government because it won’t be able to pay them their wages. There is urgency for Greece.
“In Europe, there are no simple answers”, he said.
The prime minister emphasised in his speech several times about the need to “find a solution in the interests of Greece but also in the interests of Europe”.
“The Greek economy is on the brink of catastrophe”.
Tsipras arrived in Brussels buoyed by a triumph in last Sunday’s referendum, where an overwhelming majority of Greeks backed his call to reject the belt-tightening reforms that creditors had last proposed. “(It is crucial) to have reached a definite agreement by Friday morning”. Thus, it is important that Tsipras’ European counterparts give him a way to survive, and enough time to implement the package forced by the creditors.
On top of this, Barclays thinks the Syriza-led government will face a massive crisis under popular pressure and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is could step down.
Greece has been granted two bailout programs worth a total of $266 billion in loans from other eurozone countries and the worldwide Monetary Fund.
For example, whether the European nations will remain resolute, which seems likely since their own taxpayers are growing grumpy about having to continue to fund Greece’s excesses; and, if they do, what will that mean to the rest of the world?
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“The Greek government will tomorrow (Wednesday) present a “common ground” document for a sustainable agreement, taking into account the outcome of the referendum, the common positions of political leaders and the proposals of the (creditor) institutions”, the official said late Tuesday.
