Alexis Tsipras turned to his Parliament last night in order to get approval for his latest bailout conditions. He was rewarded with a near unanimous authorization to hold a July 5th referendum that would reject or accept the latest stipulations offered by creditors in order to release billions of euros in bailout funds and keep Greece in the eurozone.
The emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Saturday evening in Brussels, without Greece attending, emerged more as a planning session focused on how to prepare the other 18 members of the eurozone for the impact of Greece being expelled as a member than on whether or not to agree on yet another debt postponement in order to provide Athens with an additional opportunity to stay financially afloat.
Negotiators at the meeting were taken by surprise by Tspiris’s referendum request and it was immediately rejected by its European partners, leading most analysts to believe that a default on the key payment due to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday and a final ejection from the euro is inevitable.
Eurogroup Press Statement
Upon receiving notification of the 151-vote government approval, the Eurogroup issued a press release outlining its efforts since February 2015 to reach an agreement with the Greek government only to be stymied by Tsipris.
“Regrettably, despite efforts at all levels and full support of the Eurogroup, (these) proposals have been rejected by the Greek authorities who broke off the program negotiations late on the 26 June unilaterally. The Eurogroup recalls the significant financial transfers and support provided to Greece over the last years…..The Eurogroup has been open until the very last moment to further support the Greek people through a continued growth-oriented program.”
Tsipras’s gamble puts Europe’s leaders, particularly Angela Merkel of Germany and Mario Draghi, the president of the European Central Bank, in an uncomfortable situation--to continue to provide Greece with extended assistance or leave the country to fend for itself.
