EU hopes what Alexis agreed, Athens will enact
Juncker and Merkel saying early today they are confident Athens will do as it is told and as its own leader has negotiated, but the scale of the Greek PM’s U-turn remains breath-taking.
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Juncker and Merkel saying early today they are confident Athens will do as it is told and as its own leader has negotiated, but the scale of the Greek PM’s U-turn remains breath-taking.
There is now the basis of a deal to keep Greece in the eurozone – but it involves the crushing of a government elected on a landslide and the flouting of a referendum.
It is every bit as much about trust as about economics now. Of course, this being Brussels and this being the EU, nobody would ever use a word as straightforward as “trust”.
The Greeks arrived with a set of proposals widely scorned as “more austere than the ones they rejected”. The internet burst forth with catcalls – “they’ve caved in”.
The new Greek government proposals, published late last night are clearly based on those submitted by Jean Claude Juncker last Thursday, before the referendum. Many Greeks are frustrated, asking: what was the point of the referendum? It’s left many foreign observers saying the same.
Behind the calm in Greece people are beginning to panic. Tsipras needs to do a deal – but not one that humiliates his country.
If Angela Merkel has her way, the euphoria in Athens about Sunday’s referendum result will prove short lived. There is a discernible hardening of attitudes in Berlin.
Why did Varoufakis go? The official reason, on his blog, was pressure from creditors. But there are a whole host of other reasons that made it easier for him to decide to yield to it.
Zoe Konstantopoulou, senior Syriza politician and speaker of the Greek parliament, tells Channel 4 News that a no vote in the country’s referendum is the beginning of a new era for Europe.
The no vote in Greece may be causing political shock and awe but stock markets in Europe reacted with relative calm this morning. The same, however, can’t be said for what has been happening in China.
Despite a resounding no vote in the referendum, Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis announces on Monday he is stepping down to ease the way to a new aid deal.
The EU leadership told Greeks a No meant exit from the eurozone. The Greek government said they were bluffing. We’ll find out who’s right soon.
Provisional results suggest at least 61 per cent of Greeks have voted against the terms of the bailout deal offered by the country’s creditors
The last opinion polls showed the No vote leading by a small margin as Greeks voted in a referendum that could decide whether the country stays in the eurozone.
As Greeks prepare to vote on an international bailout of its ailing economy, visitors are warned to take plenty of cash as bank reserves reach critical levels.