Greek PM defiant on referendum plans
TSIPRAS URGES NATION TO VOTE ‘NO’ AFTER EUROPEAN LENDERS REBUFF ATHENS’ LATEST PROPOSAL FOR NEW AID
Greece’s government yesterday pressed ahead with its plan to put austerity measures to voters after European creditors rebuffed its latest proposal for a new aid programme. But finance ministers were still discussing the country’s situation and nothing seemed set in stone.
Many European officials had ruled out any deal with Greece before a referendum called by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras for Sunday. He is asking Greeks whether they want to accept creditors’ reform proposals in return for rescue loans.
Tsipras yesterday defiantly said the referendum would go ahead and called on the people to vote “no.” In a televised address to the nation, he said a “no” result would not mean that Greece would have to leave the euro, as many European officials have argued.
Rather, Tsipras claimed, it would give the government a stronger negotiating position with creditors. “There are those who insist on linking the result of the referendum with the country’s future in the euro,” Tsipras said. “They even say I have a so-called secret plan to take the country out of the EU if the vote is ‘no.’ They are lying with the full knowledge of that fact.”
Vote plan falling short
The hastily called referendum is based on creditor reform proposals made last week as part of a negotiation with the Greek government. But they were later updated and are now no longer on the table as the European part of Greece’s bailout programme expired at midnight Tuesday.
The head of a top European intergovernmental institution said any such referendum would fall short of international standards. The Council of Europe, an independent body that monitors elections and human rights, has no enforcement capacity. But the declaration of its chief, Thorbjorn Jagland, that the referendum would not meet international standards was a major blow.
Such standards call for at least two weeks’ notice to allow for discussion, a clear question to be put to voters for consideration, and international observers invited to monitor the vote.
Eurozone finance ministers were to discuss Greece’s new offer made on Tuesday night. Tsipras sent a letter to creditors saying his government was prepared to accept their proposals, subject to certain amendments.
Some European countries — including Germany — said the proposal wasn’t good enough and that a deal remained impossible in any case before the referendum. But French President Francois Hollande urged an accord before then. Hollande said it was the responsibility of other countries that use the shared currency to keep Greece in the Eurozone.