Greece told to table proposals or risk euro exit
THE GREEK government must submit new proposals to its international lenders today or risk crashing out of the Eurozone.
Athens tabled a request for a new three-year loan yesterday, after euro area leaders warned that a deal needs to be struck by the end of this week – or not at all.
A summit of all 28 European Union leaders has been called for Sunday, following a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers – known as the Eurogroup – on Saturday. Creditors must evaluate a new Greek proposal and find agreement by Sunday.
Last night the Greek authorities revealed that banks in the country will remain closed until at least Monday, with cash machine withdrawals limited to €60 per day. Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported that the government was limiting the amount of money that Greeks could take abroad to €1,000.
Earlier in the day Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told MEPs in Brussels that his country had been treated like an “austerity laboratory”, arguing that “the experiment was not a success”.
However, he also said that the origin of the crisis lay with previous Greek governmental failures, including a history of “clientelism”, tax evasion and corruption.
Last night IMF boss Christine Lagarde repeated the need to restructure the Greek government’s debts. “Greece is in a situation of acute crisis, which needs to be addressed seriously and promptly,” she said.
•Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s June meeting showed officials are concerned about the Greek debt crisis. The minutes from its June meeting stated: “Many participants expressed concern that a failure of Greece and its official creditors to resolve their differences could result in disruptions in financial markets in the euro area, with possible spillover effects on the United States.”