Greece has submitted new bailout reform plans to an impatient eurozone in a last-ditch effort to save the country’s collapsing economy and its fragile place in the single currency.
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Creditors may insist on even harsher terms than those Greece has proposed, largely because the black hole in its finances grows with each passing day without a deal.
The government released a 13-page document detailing its new bailout plan, with proposals that closely resembled those put forward by Greece’s global creditors before talks broke down last month. If it does not receive cash and loans soon from European institutions, it could be forced to resort to government IOUs or a return to the drachma to keep its economy running.
The Prime Minister and fellow leaders will meet in an emergency summit involving all 28 European Union members – not just the 19 in the eurozone – on Sunday to discuss the crisis.
The referendum turned out a 61-percent result against the creditors’ latest bailout proposals, souring relations between Athens and many of its European peers.
“If I was one of the 61% who voted No I would now be very raging”, he said.
“This doesn’t look good”. “One being if all the European countries will accept the agreement, as well as the institutions, and the other is whether the agreement… will be accepted internally”.
Merkel said during a visit Thursday to the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, that “a classic haircut is out of the question for me”.
Tsipras vowed to continue reforms, but warned of the austerity-weariness of the Greek public.
With so much at stake in Europe, President Barack Obama on Tuesday escalated his involvement, speaking in separate conversations to Merkel and to Tsipras.
Wolfgang Schaeuble said that European rules meant that writing off some loans to Greece was not doable, however desirable it might be for Athens’ finances.
That’s 20 billion more euros than the next biggest creditor, France.
But all that has proved insufficient, with Greece struggling through a depression that has shrunk its output by a quarter and sent unemployment rocketing to 26 percent.
Following a phone conversation with Mr Tsirpas early on Thursday, Mr Tusk said that a “realistic proposal from Athens” needed to be matched by “realistic proposal from creditors on debt sustainability” to create a win-win situation.
International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde reiterated Wednesday that Greece’s massive debt would need restructuring, something that Germany – Greece’s largest European lender – has resisted.
It must be said that the so-called “austerity” was always more a synonym for monstrous tax hikes than for actual spending cuts.
Germany, the Netherlands and several Nordic and eastern European states are increasingly hostile to another rescue. In exchange, Greece wants a three-year financial support program worth almost $60 billion and some form of debt relief.
“Europe is intent on forcing an outcome either way”.
Tusk has called the next few days “really and truly the final wake-up call for Greece and for us”.
A pro-Euro demonstrator shouts slogans as he holds a Greek flag in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier during a rally at Syntagma square in Athens, Thursday, July 9, 2015.
The closure of Greek banks has been extended until next Monday. Payments overseas have been banned without special permission.
Last-minute bookings by foreign visitors to Greece – usually a hotspot summer vacation destination – have plunged by 30 percent, dealing a serious blow to a sector that accounts for a fifth of the economy. Banks and the stock market have been shut for just as long. The latest date given is next Monday.
But that prodding appeared to do little to bridge a divide that has only widened as Greece’s crisis has deepened.
The euro was last down 1.4 percent versus the yen to 134 yen, after earlier dropping to a five-year trough.
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The British Ambassador to Greece, John Kittmer, said: ” The extension of capital controls makes it all the more important that visitors to Greece take sufficient euros in cash to cover their stay, and to meet unforeseen circumstances and delays.
