Monday, June 29, 2015

Juncker 'betrayed' by Greek failure to agree bailout deal


EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker has said he felt "betrayed" by the failure of Athens to agree on a bailout deal with EU ministers, despite the huge efforts made.

"After all the efforts I deployed from the commission, I feel betrayed because these efforts were insufficiently taken into account," Mr Juncker said at a news briefing.

Mr Juncker said if Greek voters reject proposed reforms in Sunday's referendum they would also be rejecting the European Union.

"A 'No' would mean, regardless of the question posed, that Greece had said no to Europe," Mr Juncker said in Brussels.

In response, a spokesman for the Greek government cast doubt on Mr Juncker's "sincerity", saying "An essential element in indicating good faith and reliability in negotiations is sincerity".

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is still prepared to hold talks with her Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras, despite the breakdown in debt negotiations at the weekend.

A spokesman for the German leader said Ms Merkel was willing to speak to Mr Tsipras, "if he would like to".

It comes as Greek banks are to remain closed until 7 July, the day after a referendum on bailout proposals.

According to an official decree published early today, ATM withdrawals will be limited to €60 a day in the same period.

The decree on capital controls was published in the official government gazette and titled 'Bank Holiday break'.

It lists the measures imposed on financial institutions lasting from 28 June to 6 July and was signed by President Prokopis Pavlopoulos and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

It cited "the extremely urgent and unforeseen need to protect the Greek financial system and the Greek economy due to the lack of liquidity caused by the Eurogroup's decision on 27 June to refuse the extension of the loan agreement with Greece".

Banks will reopen on Tuesday 7 July, a government statement said.

It said cash machines, many of which are dry after massive withdrawals this weekend, will "operate normally again by Monday noon at the latest".

The €60 ATM withdrawal limit is per bank card...................http://www.rte.ie/news/2015/0629/711262-greece-banks/

29/6/15
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3 comments:

  1. Référendum : Jean-Claude Juncker appelle les Grecs à voter "oui" dimanche ...

    Le président de la Commission européenne, Jean-Claude Juncker, a appelé lundi midi le peuple grec à voter "oui" au référendum organisé dimanche prochain, "indépendamment de la question posée", car le "oui" montrerait la volonté des Grecs de rester dans la zone euro et dans l'Union européenne, a-t-il indiqué.

    Après avoir célébré "l'Europe de la réconciliation, du compromis, celle qui veut comprendre les autres" et rappelé qu'en Europe "aucune démocratie ne vaut plus qu'une autre", le président de la Commission européenne s'est dit "affligé et attristé par le spectacle de samedi dernier". "Après tous les efforts que j'ai déployés, que la Commission a déployés, je me sens un peu trahi", a-t-il reconnu.

    "Lorsque j'ai commencé il y a longtemps ma vie européenne, nous étions dix Etats membres, le dixième venait d'arriver, c'était la Grèce", s'est-il rappelé. "Comme le veux la formule de (l'ancien président français) Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, je ne voulais pas voir Platon jouer en deuxième division."

    Jean-Claude Juncker a pointé ceux d'où viennent les insultes. "Nous ne méritons pas toutes les critiques qui nous tombent dessus, le président de l'Eurogroupe et moi-même", a-t-il commenté. Le président de la Commission a encore rappelé que les institutions avaient adopté leur méthode de travail aux Grecs, acceptant par exemple de ne plus tenir aucune réunion à Athènes. "Mon équipe et moi-même avons toujours fait preuve de patience, ça montre notre volonté d'aboutir à un compromis", a-t-il insisté.................http://www.rtbf.be/info/dossier/la-grece-en-pleine-tempete-financiere/detail_grece-moscovici-voit-des-marges-pour-la-negociation-juncker-va-faire-des-propositions-ce-midi?id=9019508

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  2. Merkel says Europe can cope with crises like Greece much better now...

    Europe is better placed to deal with debt crises in countries such as Greece than in the past, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday.

    "Europe can cope much, much better with crisis situations like the one we see in Greece right now because we have achieved a lot together," Merkel said.

    She added that although it was important to find compromises in Europe, this should not undermine the fundamental principle that solidarity and own efforts must go hand-in-hand.
    (Reporting by Michael Nienaber and Michelle Martin)
    - Reuters

    ReplyDelete
  3. Greece, EU duel over referendum as crisis deepens...

    Greek and EU leaders have voiced contradicting messages about the upcoming referendum on the bailout package, as Greece struggled to adjust to shuttered banks, closed cash machines and a climate of rumors and conspiracy theories.

    The latest breakdown in talks between Athens and its creditors has plunged the country deeper into crisis.
    Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who blindsided creditors by calling a referendum on the austerity cuts in the aid package proposed by creditors, appeared on television on June 28 night to announce capital controls to prevent banks from collapsing.

    Athens issued a decree to close banks until July 6, the day after a referendum on creditors’ bailout proposals, with a 60-euro ($65) limit on cashpoint withdrawals. The Athens stock market has meanwhile been shut until July 7.

    “Any difficulties that may arise must be dealt with calmness. The more calm we are, the sooner we will get over this situation,” Tsipras said, adding Athens had again requested a “prolongation of the (bailout) program,” as quoted by Agence France-Presse.

    In response to the referendum proposal, Greece’s eurozone partners refused to extend the country’s bailout program, which expires on June 30, and the European Central Bank capped its emergency support for the country’s banks.

    European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on June 29 urged voters in Greece to support a package of creditors’ reform proposals which they will vote on in a referendum.

    “I will ask the Greek people to vote ‘Yes,’” he was quoted by AFP as saying, adding that one “should not commit suicide because one is afraid of death.”

    Juncker said the vote was a “moment of truth” for Greece, whose existing assistance program ends on June 30.

    German Chancellor Angela Merkel played down prospects of a breakthrough in the coming days, but said she stood ready to restart talks with Athens after the planned referendum...........hurriyetdailynews.com

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