"Regrettably ... too little progress has been made. No agreement is in sight," Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairman of the Eurogroup, said on Thursday.
Ministers sent a strong signal that it was up to Greece to make new proposals, he said.
- European Council President Donald Tusk said in a statement that he had summoned heads of state and government of the euro area to meet in Brussels at 1700 GMT on Monday.
Yanis Varoufakis, Greek finance minister, blamed Tusk for chosing to focus on the Greek side's responsibilities and not the responsibilities of all sides.
He conceded that time was pressing for the country to secure the deal, but said he believed the agreement that would be acceptable for all could still be reached.
Greece needs more loans from its creditors before June 30, when its bailout programme expires and it is scheduled to make a debt repayment worth about $1.8 bn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The creditors want Greece to make economic reforms but Athens is baulking.
On the eve of the Luxembourg talks, Alexis Tsipras, Greek prime minister, described demands by the country's rescue lenders to slash pensions "incomprehensible".
Tsipras' five-month-old left-wing government wants new terms for its bailout programme after previous administrations imposed draconian spending cuts and tax increases for five years. Those austerity measures helped reduce the public deficit but ravaged the economy and made most Greeks poorer.
EU officials said they had already lowered their demands for a primary budget surplus this year from three percent to one percent and agreed to make the increase in the surplus over the next years more gradual. A primary surplus is how much a government earns when not counting the costs of interest payments on debt.
If Greece ends up defaulting on its debt, the bankruptcy procedure is expected to prompt the country's messy exit from the Eurozone and even the European Union.
Officials acknowledged that a so-called "Grexit" was now being discussed and that contingency plans were being made. As fears of a potential Grexit have swelled, there have been signs that Greeks are withdrawing money from their banks in ever-increasing amounts.
Source: Agencies
aljazeera.com
18/6/15
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Euro zone sets emergency summit on Greece as money flees...
ReplyDeleteEuro zone leaders will hold an emergency summit Monday to try to avert a Greek default after bank withdrawals accelerated and government revenue slumped as Athens and its international creditors remain deadlocked over a debt deal.
Finance ministers of the 19-nation currency bloc failed to make any breakthrough on a cash-for-reforms agreement at talks in Luxembourg Thursday, just 12 days before Greece must make a crucial debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund.......Reuters..........dailystar.com.lb
Διαψεύδει η ΕΚΤ ότι στο Eurogroup ειπώθηκε από τον Μπενουά Κερέ ότι «δεν είναι βέβαιο αν θα ανοίξουν οι ελληνικές τράπεζες την Δευτέρα»...
ReplyDeleteΣύμφωνα με πηγές από την Ευρωπαϊκή Κεντρική Τράπεζα, που επικαλείται ο δημοσιογράφος των Financial Times Πίτερ Σπίγκελ, διαψεύδεται ότι υπήρξε προειδοποίηση ότι οι ελληνικές τράπεζες μπορεί και να μην ανοίξουν τη Δευτέρα.
Η ΕΚΤ είπε στο Eurogroup ότι δεν είναι σίγουρη για το αν οι ελληνικές τράπεζες θα μπορούν να ανοίξουν τη Δευτέρα, ανέφεραν αξιωματούχοι σύμφωνα με το Reuters, γεγονός που ωστόσο διαψεύδουν άλλες πηγές.
Σύμφωνα με το πρακτορείο, οι αξιωματούχοι είπαν ότι κατά τη διάρκεια του Eurogroup για την Ελλάδα, ο πρόεδρος Γερούν Ντάισελμπλουμ ρώτησε το μέλος του Εκτελεστικού Συμβουλίου της ΕΚΤ Μπενουά Κερέ εάν οι ελληνικές τράπεζες θα μπορούν να ανοίξουν αύριο. Ο Κερέ απάντησε: «Αύριο ναι. Για τη Δευτέρα δεν ξέρω». Σύμφωνα πάντως με τον δημοσιογράφο των Financial Times Peter Spiegel, η ΕΚΤ διαψεύδει ότι προειδοποίησε πως οι τράπεζες ενδέχεται να μην μπορούν να ανοίξουν τη Δευτέρα…crashonline.gr
Greek debt talks end in failure...
ReplyDelete.......Without the bailout tranche and the IMF deadline missed, Greece would be for the first time in five years financially alone, with its coffers empty and all eyes on what happens next.
"The other option is to prepare the B plan," said Irish finance minister Michael Noonan, adding that he did not fear any "contagion effect" in the case of a "Grexit" -- meaning Greece crashing out of the euro.
Finnish Finance Minister Alex Stubb added: "Option number 1 is extension .... Option B could be default."......http://www.france24.com/en/20150618-greece-debt-talks-end-failure-eurozone-imf-bailout
ECB raises emergency credit amid Greek bank fears...
ReplyDeleteThe European Central Bank on Friday approved an increase in emergency credit for Greece’s banks, news agencies reported, citing an unnamed Greek bank source.
The ECB's governing council had called an emergency session to discuss an increase in liquidity to Greek banks, amid reports of growing capital flight.
"There was no problem with the financing of Greek banks," the source told AFP, adding that bank governors were expecting a "positive result".
A Greek banking official, who spoke to the AP news agency on the condition of anonymity because the decision was not yet made public, said the precise sum of the new credit will not be announced.
State agency ANA, however, reported that the funding cap was increased by €3.3 billion ($3.7 billion).....france24.com
19/6/15
Merkel urges deal before Monday summit...
ReplyDeleteGerman Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned there must be a deal between Greece and its creditors ahead of Monday's emergency EU summit.
Otherwise, she said, the summit would not be able to make any decision.
Greece has less than two weeks remaining to strike a deal or face defaulting on a €1.6bn (£1.1bn) IMF loan repayment.
There are fears about the health of Greek banks, amid reports more than €4bn has been withdrawn this week.
On Friday, the European Central Bank (ECB) approved more emergency help for the banks. The amount of extra funding has not been officially disclosed.
Meanwhile, Russia says it will consider granting a loan to Greece if it is asked.
If Greece fails to make the repayment due to the International Monetary Fund, it risks having to leave the eurozone and possibly also the EU....BBC
20/6/15