Greek ‘no’ risks place in euro zone: Dijsselbloem

The head of the grouping of Euro zone finance ministers, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, has said that a “No” vote in the Greek referendum on bailout terms will not provide the country with an easy way out of its debt crisis.

Brussels: The Eurogroup has decided not to hold further talks before the outcome of Greece referendum on Sunday, Slovak Finance Minister Peter Kazimir tweeted on Wednesday.

Finnish Finance Minister Alex Stubb said an extension was “not possible”, adding requests for a new rescue programme with the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the EU’s bailout vehicle, “is always dealt with through normal procedures”.

The creditors – The worldwide Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission – see the vote as Greeks’ final verdict on whether to stay in The Eurozone, even though the Athens government insists its negotiators will be at the bargaining table Monday whatever the outcome. “We will continue tomorrow morning to allow finance ministers to examine the proposals of the Greek government”, the source said. “We are not talking to the government anymore”. He points out, however, that the conditions referred to in the referendum question no longer apply as they are based on Greece’s bailout program, which expired Tuesday.

Four members of the right-wing Independent Greeks, uneasy bedfellows whose 13 votes Mr Tsipras’ left-wing Syriza party needs for a majority, defied him in the space of 24 hours by urging Greeks to accept more austerity in return for European money. His party colleague Dimitris Kammenos said Greece’s role in Europe was “non-negotiable”. “France is stronger than in 2010”.

For its part, the ECB’s governing council is holding daily conference calls to decide whether to increase the emergency liquidity assistance (ELA) available to the Greek banking sector. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras confirmed Wednesday that the referendum would take place and that he would be backing the “No” campaign.

Tsipras announced the referendum Saturday when his government walked out of the talks with creditors. The euro itself was 0.1 percent higher at $1.1066.