Greek crisis: Athens rejects capital controls report as Draghi calls for …
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives at his office in Maximos Mansion for a governmental council meeting. Photograph: Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters
Time for a recap, as we await Mario Draghi’s appearance at the European Parliament this afternoon.
The Greek government and the European Commission have blamed each other for the collapse of negotiations over its bailout programme last night, amid rising concern that Greece could soon run out of cash to service its debts.
Government spokesman Gabriel Sakellardis told reporters in Athens that Greece will keep working towards a deal, but insisted that it will not accept fresh cuts:
The Greek government has only one plan and that is to reach a deal…..
We will not adopt measures which will cut pensions, raise the value added tax on basic goods or measures which exacerbate the vicious circle of austerity.
While in Brussels, the EC criticised Greece for producing numbers that didn’t “add up”.
Spokeswoman Annika Breidthardt said the package proposed by the institutions was substantial, valid and made full economic sense.
“The proposals meet the needs of the Greek people, the Greek government, but also of the other 18 (euro zone) member states…..
“The targets have already been significantly lowered… It’s not a one-way street.”
The EC also denied that it is pushing for pensions to be cut, but does want the overall cost of the system to be lowered by 1% of GDP.
Germany’s EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has dramatically raised the tensions today, telling MPs in Germany that Freece
“We should work out an emergency plan because Greece would fall into a state of emergency,” said Oettinger, the EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society who is also a senior member of Merkel’s CDU in unusually strong comments.
“Energy supplies, pay for police officials, medical supplies, and pharmaceutical products and much more” needed to be ensured, he said.
He noted that the EU has “proven mechanisms” that can help states to fulfil essential duties such as with police protection and healthcare.
Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras remains steadfastly opposed to compromise, telling a Greek newspaper that the days of allowing creditors to loot the country are over.
Tsipras has been meeting with senior ministers today discuss the crisis.
Greek government debt has slumped in value today, as traders see a higher danger that it will default on its loans.
That drove the yield on Greek two-year bonds soaring to 29.6%, up from below 25% on Friday night.
European stock markets have been hit hard by the crisis today too. The FTSE 100 has shed 70 points or 1.1%, to 6714 points – that’s a three-month low.
And there are steeper losses in other markets; Athens has slumped by over 5%.
Photograph: Thomson Reuters
The Greek stock exchange today. Photograph: Yannis Kolesidis/EPA
And there was no escape from the Greek crisis for Francois Hollande as he visited the Paris Air Show.
France’s president urged Greece to resume talks soon, in an attempt to get a deal before Greece’s bailout expires on 30 June, when it also owes €1.5bn to the IMF.
AFP has the details:
“This message is for Greece,” Hollande told reporters at the Paris Air Show.
“It should not wait and should restart discussions with the institutions… Let’s not waste time.”
Photograph: POOL/AP
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Greek crisis: Athens rejects capital controls report as Draghi calls for …
