The Greek parliament has backed plans for a referendum on international creditors' terms for a new bailout.
The
5 July referendum was called by PM Alexis Tsipras, who opposes further
budget cuts. He urged voters to deliver a "resounding 'no'" to the
package.
Eurozone partners have criticised Greece's referendum
announcement, and rejected its request to extend the bailout programme
beyond 30 June.
Greece could default on a €1.6bn (£1.1bn) repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due on that day.
There are fears the country may leave the euro and that its economy may collapse without new bailout funds.
Mr
Tsipras' motion on a referendum easily won backing in the 300-member
strong parliament, with at least 179 MPs voting in favour of it in the
early hours of Sunday.
Speaking just before the vote, Mr Tsipras
described the creditors' proposal as "an insulting ultimatum" and said
an emphatic "no" vote on 5 July would strengthen Greece's negotiating
position.
His government had earlier rejected the creditors'
offer of a five-month extension to Greece's bailout programme in
exchange for reforms.
On Saturday, eurozone finance ministers rejected the Greek proposal for the bailout extension beyond Tuesday's deadline. A Eurogroup statement said Greece had broken off negotiations over a new bailout deal "unilaterally".
Analysis: Chris Morris, BBC News, Brussels
It's
never over till it's over. But it feels like the end is perilously
close. The breakdown in talks between Greece and its creditors has to be
seen as a failure.
It wasn't supposed to happen like this. It is
also a massive gamble on all sides, and a possible turning point in the
history of the eurozone. There will still be those working feverishly
behind the scenes for compromise, but in effect neither side has blinked
yet.
When the Greek government thought it had made substantial
concessions at the beginning of the week, the creditors said it simply
wasn't enough. And while no-one can say for certain that Greece will
leave the eurozone, this is already uncharted territory.
Much
will depend on the outcome of the referendum called by PM Alexis
Tsipras, if it takes place on schedule. And much will also depend on the
European Central Bank - and whether it believes it can still allow
funds to flow, to prevent banks in Greece from collapsing. ECB faces huge decision
Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said it would now be up to the
European Central Bank (ECB) to decide whether to continue providing
emergency liquidity funding to the Greek banking system.
IMF head
Christine Lagarde told the BBC that because the European part of
Greece's bailout programme would have expired by 5 July, any referendum
would relate to "proposals and arrangements which are no longer valid".
But
she said that if there was a "resounding 'yes'" to staying in the
eurozone, then the response would be "a resounding 'let us try'".
Meanwhile,
queues have formed in Greece outside banks in the past few days amid
concerns that the central bank might start restricting withdrawals.
Greece timeline: Key dates ahead
30 June: Troika bailout programme ends as Greek €1.6bn payment to IMF due
1 July: No bailout programme could mean no emergency liquidity from the ECB
5 July: Proposed Greek referendum
10 July: Treasury bills worth €2bn to be repaid
20 July: Bonds worth €3.5bn to be repaid to eurozone partners
No comments:
Post a Comment