‘We don’t need EU permission’: Greek parliament ratifies bailout referendum
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras
delivers a speech during a parliamentary session in Athens, Greece
June 28, 2015 (Reuters / Yannis Behrakis)
RT,
27 June, 2015, 01.25 am Moscow time
As
an equal member of the EU, Greece does not need to ask permissions
from anyone to let the Greek people speak and have their voices
heard, PM Tsipras told his parliament, promising that the state’s
sovereignty and future will be decided via referendum.
Referendums
have been used all across Europe as a way for people to directly
express their will and have their voices heard, and Greece is fully
in its right to conduct one PM Alexis Tsipras said during a
late-night debate in parliament.
The message from a number of Finance Ministers today-with a number of exceptions--was that #democracy should be stifled. #Greece#vouli
— Alexis Tsipras (@tsipras_eu) June 27, 2015
With
Tsipras’ ruling coalition holding 163 seats in the 300-seat
parliament, the body has backed Tsipras’ motion to hold a
referendum.
The
conditions for a new bailout deal and reforms proposed by Greece's
creditors were an ultimatum and an insult, Tsipras said. During
the rowdy debate in the Greek Parliament, the main opposition party,
New Democracy, briefly walked out over a dispute with the
parliamentary speaker, but later returned.
“We
exhausted every limit of concessions so there could be an
agreement,” Tsipras
said. “Perhaps
some saw that as a weakness.”
We don't need to ask permission from Mr. Schäuble or Mr. Dijsselbloem to let the voice of the Greek people to be heard. #Greece#vouli
— Alexis Tsipras (@tsipras_eu) June 27, 2015
“The
day of truth is coming for the creditors, the time when they will see
that Greece will not surrender, that Greece is not a game that has
ended,” he
said, concluding his address by calling on all Greeks to reject
the “ultimatum” with
a “resounding
NO.”
The
head of the International Monetary Fund meanwhile said that
creditors "will
continue to work" to
keep Greece within the single currency zone. She said the
Eurogroup "always
showed flexibility to adjust to the new political and economic
situation in Greece," rejecting
Tsipras’ claims that his country was facing an ultimatum.
“I
certainly hope that the bundled payment due to the IMF on Tuesday
night, at the latest, will be paid,”Lagarde
told CNBC in a separate interview.
The
EU Council President Donald Tusk also warned that Athens must stay
within the single currency zone no mater what the outcome of the
referendum might be.
"Greece
is and should remain euro area member," Tusk
tweeted after eurozone finance ministers refused to extend the
bailout agreement on Saturday, adding he remains "in
contact with leaders to ensure integrity of euro area of 19
countries."
Eurozone
Rejects Greek Bailout Extension: All Bailout Programs Expire On June
30, Referendum Moot
First
thing this morning, when
summarizing the
flurry of overnight events, we focused on today's final gambit by
Greece:
"... moments ago Varoufakis was quoted as saying he would ask the Eurogroup for a bailout extension of a few weeks to accommodate the referendum.
And the punchline: if the Eurogroup says "Oxi", then the entire Greek gambit, which has been a bet that to Europe the opportunity cost of a Grexit is higher than folding to Greek demands, collapses.
If the Eurogroup declines Varoufakis' request, there simply can not be a referendum, as the "institutions proposal" will no longer be on the table. As such, the only question is whether the ECB will also end the ELA at midnight on June 30, adding insult to injury, and causing the collapse of the Greek banking system days ahead of a referendum whose purpose would now be moot."
And,
as expected, with the Eurozone meeting on Greece having just ended
after a brief hour of deliberations, AFP reports that the answer, was
indeed, no.
#BREAKING: Eurozone ministers reject Greek bailout extension: sources
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) June 27, 2015
And
then this:
- EUROGROUP PRESS CONFERENCE CALLED OFF IN BRUSSELS
- EURO-AREA FIN. MINISTERS TO CONTINUE TALKS WITHOUT GREECE: ANP
- EUROGROUP TO RECONVENE AFTER BRIEFING W/O GREECE: EU OFFICIAL
In
effect, and very symbolically, Greece is already out of the
Eurogroup. Worse: the referendum is now moot as the programs will
expire on Tuesday night and Greece won't have anything actionable to
vote on next Sunday.
What
happens next: Eurogroup makes it official that the Greek proposal
ends on June 30 making the referendum moot as the institutions
proposal will no longer be on the table, the ECB pulls
a "Cyprus" on Greek ELA,
and a Greek bank system which is put on indefinite hiatus, leading to
a "soft" Greek default if not outright Grexit, paving the
way for even more ECB QE.
In
the meantime, here is the live feed from the Euro-ex-Greece-Group
where now only 18 countries are allowed to opine on the future of the
costliest, and most artificial monetary experiment in history.
And
here is the official Eurogroup
Statement on Greece, whose most important line is the footnote:
Since the 20 February 2015 agreement of the Eurogroup on the extension of the current financial assistance arrangement, intensive negotiations have taken place between the institutions and the Greek authorities to achieve a successful conclusion of the review. Given the prolonged deadlock in negotiations and the urgency of the situation, institutions have put forward a comprehensive proposal on policy conditionality, making use of the given flexibility within the current arrangement.
Regrettably, despite efforts at all levels and full support of the Eurogroup, this proposal has been rejected by the Greek authorities who broke off the programme negotiations late on the 26 June unilaterally. The Eurogroup recalls the significant financial transfers and support provided to Greece over the last years. The Eurogroup has been open until the very last moment to further support the Greek people through a continued growth-oriented programme.
The Eurogroup takes note of the decision of the Greek government to put forward a proposal to call for a referendum, which is expected to take place on Sunday July 5, which is after the expiration of the programme period. The current financial assistance arrangement with Greece will expire on 30 June 2015, as well as all agreements related to the current Greek programme including the transfer by euro area Member States of SMP and ANFA equivalent profits.
The euro area authorities stand ready to do whatever is necessary to ensure financial stability of the euro area.
[1] Supported by all members of the Eurogroup except the Greek member.
Presenting
the Euro-ex-Greece-Group
Greek
Parliament Votes In Favor Of Referendum
Greek Parliament Votes In Favor Of Referendum
*
* *
Greece’s
referendum question will would have read as follows (before the offer
was rescinded):
"Greek
people are hereby asked to decide whether they accept a draft
agreement document submitted by the European Commission, the European
Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, at the Eurogroup
meeting held on on June 25 and which consists of two documents:
"The
first document is called Reforms for the Completion of the Current
Program and Beyond and the second document is called Preliminary Debt
Sustainability Analysis.
"-
Those citizens who reject the institutions’ proposal vote Not
Approved / NO."
"-
Those citizens who accept the institutions’ proposal vote Approved
/ YES."
The
two documents reflect the complexity of Greece’s financial
predicament.
The
first includes sections on "parametric budgetary measures"
and "unified wage grid reform."
The
second has a discussion of the methodological advantages of using
‘‘gross annual financing needs’’ to assess Greece’s debt
burden, rather than the more traditional debt-to-GDP ratio.
*
* *
We
noted earlier:
The
Greek parliament is in session on Saturday evening as lawmakers
debate the country's EMU fate and vote on the referendum called by PM
Alexis Tsipras just after midnight this morning.
TSIPRAS
SAYS REFERENDUM WILL BE MOMENT OF TRUTH FOR CREDITORS
TSIPRAS:
GREEK PROPOSAL FOR SUSTAINABLE DEAL STILL ON TABLE
TSIPRAS
SAYS REFERENDUM NOT MEANT AS RUPTURE WITH EUROPE
TSIPRAS
SAYS GAME OF BAILOUT HAS COME TO AN END
GREEK
PARLIAMENT TO RESUME IN 10 MIN AHEAD OF REFERENDUM VOTE
SAMARAS
SAYS REFERENDUM DRAGS COUNTRY OUT OF EUROPE
SAMARAS
SAYS CREDITORS DISCUSSING PLAN B FOR GREECE
STATE
MINISTER PAPPAS SAYS GOVT STILL AIMING FOR AGREEMENT
Parliament
Speaker Zoe Konstantopoulou announces 10-min recess after opposition
New Democracy lawmakers walk out of chamber in the middle of debate.
From the Guardian
EU ministers refuse bailout extension for Greece as referendum looms
Greek
parliament approves referendum vote, as EU finance ministers seek to
insulate rest of eurozone from anticipated financial mayhem
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