Greece to extend bank holiday beyond Wednesday: govt source

Greece will issue a ministerial decree later on Wednesday to extend a bank holiday that has already lasted for eight working days, a government official said, as Athens seeks to convince sceptical partners for a new aid deal. "The bank holiday will be extended," the official said, without providing further details. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

JUL 8, 20159:48 PM

[ATHENS] Greece will issue a ministerial decree later on Wednesday to extend a bank holiday that has already lasted for eight working days, a government official said, as Athens seeks to convince sceptical partners for a new aid deal. "The bank holiday will be extended," the official said, without providing further details.

Banks are struggling to keep their automated teller machine networks fed with banknotes to dispense cash at the daily withdrawal limit of 60 euros, gradually using up the remaining cash buffer in the system.

Last week, Greece issued a decree imposing capital controls and closing its banks after the European Central Bank froze a vital lifeline of emergency funds following the breakdown of bailout talks between Athens and its creditors.

REUTERS

    
 

Greece's Tsipras 'confident' of meeting debt deal deadline

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday he was confident of meeting an end-of-the-week deadline set by eurozone leaders to reach a bailout deal or risk leaving the euro.

JUL 8, 20155:19 PM

[STRASBOURG] Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Wednesday he was confident of meeting an end-of-the-week deadline set by eurozone leaders to reach a bailout deal or risk leaving the euro.

"I am confident that in the next two or three days we will be able to meet the obligations in the best interests of Greece and also the eurozone," Mr Tsipras said in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

Greeted by a mixture of boos and cheers from European MPs, the Greek premier added: "Our proposals for financing our obligations and restructuring our debt will not burden European taxpayers."

Eurozone leaders agreed at an emergency summit late Tuesday to give Greece until Thursday to submit a new reform plan after Greek voters rejected creditors' demands in a referendum, with a full EU summit on Sunday the final deadline to reach a deal.

EU President Donald Tusk warned the European Parliament ahead of the speech by Mr Tsipras that failure to reach a deal "may lead to the bankruptcy of Greece" and cause geopolitical problems for Europe.

Mr Tsipras called on all sides to work together to prevent a "divided Europe".

"This is a European problem which requires a European solution... let us not allow it to become a divided Europe," he said.

He said Greece, which has imposed tough reforms in exchange for two EU-IMF bailouts since 2010, had been used as an "austerity laboratory" by the rest of Europe.

AFP