Greece debt crisis: Eurozone ministers to
decide on bailout
11 July 2015 Europe
The new proposals faced opposition from some in the Greek
parliament
Eurozone finance chiefs are gathering in Brussels for a
meeting that could decide whether new Greek proposals are
sufficient to secure a third bailout and prevent a possible
eurozone exit.
Greece's parliament overnight backed PM Alexis Tsipras's
new package.
But he faced anger from some in his own party for proposing
measures that were rejected in a referendum last Sunday.
Some creditors gave an initially positive reaction to the plans
but a bailout agreement is far from certain.
Follow the latest updates here
The creditors - the European Commission, European Central
Bank and International Monetary Fund - have sent a first joint
assessment to the eurozone ministers.
"Under certain conditions, they jointly see the proposals as a
basis for negotiation," an EU official told Reuters.
Greece is asking creditors for €53.5bn ($59.47bn; £38.4bn)
to cover Greece's debts until 2018, but the amount of the
new bailout could reach €74bn, as Greece is seeking a
restructuring of its massive debt, which it says is
unsustainable.
At the scene: Jasmine Coleman, BBC News, Athens
Punters are watching for their numbers on TV screens
outside a betting cafe in central Athens. Next to broadcasts
of motorbike racing, lottery draws and athletics, TV
commentators give the latest on the debt crisis.
But George Vassis, 45, is not betting on the politics. "Who
knows what will happen?" he asks. Like many here, he is
weary after months of talks and economic decline.
He runs a business information company and wants an end
to the current deadlock. "Something must be done. The
measures the government is offering are bad, but it's the
only way to go forward."
Mr Tsipras has faced backlash to his proposals, but for
George much of the damage has already been done. His
company will have to make redundancies either way - he is
just waiting to find out how many.
Will a deal be reached?
Did Greeks really fail to pay 89.5% of taxes?
Of the €74bn, €58bn could come from the EU's bailout fund,
the European Stability Mechanism , with €16bn from the
IMF, sources said.
Greece's creditors have already provided more than €200bn
in two bailouts over the past five years. The second expired
on 30 June, when Greece fell into arrears on an IMF loan.
A euro working group began a technical revue of the new
proposals in Brussels on Saturday morning.
The 19 eurozone finance ministers will review the proposals
afterwards and decide whether they form the basis for a new
loan deal, and whether to supply Greece with interim
funding.
There will then be a meeting of Eurogroup leaders in
Brussels on Sunday afternoon, followed two hours later by a
full meeting of EU leaders.
Although the new package has drawn support from the likes
of France and Italy, the reaction from Germany, which is
more exposed to Greek debt, has been more subdued.
One EU source told Agence France-Presse the new Greek
plan stood only a "50-50" chance of approval on Saturday.
Crisis countdown
11 July: Eurozone finance ministers discuss plans
(Brussels 13:00 GMT)
12 July: Eurogroup leaders meet (14:00 GMT) followed
by summit of all 28 members of the European Union
(16:00 GMT). Both Brussels
20 July: €3bn payment due from Greece to the European
Central Bank
Will EU leaders choose Grexit?
How has austerity affected the eurozone?
Ripple effect of crisis reaches Georgia
Without a deal, Greece risks crashing out of the euro.
Banks have been closed for two weeks now and a €60 (£43;
$66) daily limit on cash machine withdrawals, imposed on
28 June, remains in force for Greek citizens. Many people
say they have only been able to withdraw €50, as there are
no smaller denomination notes.
The measures submitted in the new Greek document
include:
tax rise on shipping companies
unifying VAT rates at standard 23%, including
restaurants and catering
phasing out solidarity grant for pensioners by 2019
€300m ($332m; £216m) defence spending cuts by 2016
privatisation of ports and sell-off of remaining shares in
telecoms giant OTE
scrapping 30% tax break for wealthiest islands.
Many of the ideas had previously been opposed by Mr
Tsipras - and when put to the Greeks in a referendum last
Sunday were soundly rejected.
The prime minister admitted that the package "entails many
proposals that are far from our pledges, from what we feel
is right for the recovery of the economy" and were only
"marginally better" than proposals put forward by the
creditors last month.
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