Greek Prime Minister Alexia Tsipras on Saturday said the country would hold a referendum on July 5 on the latest debt deal proposed by its worldwide creditors.
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“If we forgot that, the euro would fail, and with it Europe”, said Merkel, who through years of eurozone turmoil has championed tough reforms and cost-cutting in return for bailout cash from the EU, European Central Bank and worldwide Monetary Fund.
Greece’s government appeared to be caving into demands from its creditors on Wednesday, offering concessions in a desperate attempt to get more aid hours after its bailout program expired.
He says that “if the “no” vote wins, we will continue to be open to talks”. About 1,000 bank branches around the country were ordered by the government to reopen Wednesday to help desperate pensioners without ATM cards cash up to 120 euros ($134) from their retirement checks. “My wife and I are living a very frugal life at the moment, simply because we are inundated, moving from one political meeting to another”.
A large white banner declaring “No to blackmail and austerity!” was unfurled from windows of the finance ministry yesterday evening, reports Reuters, although Varoufakis said it was the work of “unionists” and it was later removed.
French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said Europe remains committed to avoiding catastrophe for Greece and keeping it in the eurozone.
“We are on a war footing” to ensure the rushed referendum happens on time, Mr Varoufakis said.
London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.34 percent to close at 6,608.59 points, Frankfurt’s DAX 30 jumped 2.15 percent to 11,180.50 points and the CAC 40 in Paris was up 1.94 percent to 4,883.19 points.
In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.79 percent to 17,757.91.
‘The world is watching us. “But the future of Europe is not at stake”.
After a conference call to discuss the Greek offer, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem announced that there would be no new talks until after Sunday’s referendum.
Tsipras asked in aletter to creditors to keep a discount on value added tax for Greek islands, stretch out defence spending cuts and delay the phasing out of an income supplement to poorer pensioners.
Anti-EU protesters were seen through a burned and torn European Union flag during a protest at the northern city of Thessaloniki on Wednesday.
Ahead of the referendum, an opinion poll on Wednesday showed the “No” camp in the lead with 46 percent, against 37 percent for “Yes” and 17 percent undecided.
He also noted that with capital controls, in place since Monday, “much more efforts will be needed to restore the situation”. Such standards call for at least two weeks’ notice to allow for discussion, a clear question to be put to voters for consideration, and global observers invited to monitor the vote.
He also said the German government’s budget plans for the years through to 2019 are “pretty well steeled against downside risks” although the financial problems that cash-strapped Greece’s faces will have some impact.
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The Greek minister claimed that the five-month negotiations had stalled “because Greece’s creditors refused to reduce our unpayable public debt and insisted that it should be repaid “parametrically” by the weakest members of our society: their children, and their grandchildren”.
