- Updated 00.50
GREEK BANKS WILL not open tomorrow, in a bid to prevent financial panic.
This situation will continue for a week in an attempt to make it through the country’s referendum next Sunday’s on a bailout a deal.
The decision to implement a bank holiday and to introduction capital controls was announced by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in a televised broadcast this evening.
Following the announcement of the referendum on Friday by the Greek PM, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced yesterday that they would not be raising the line of liquidity to the country to cover the run on the banks that has taken place over the past 48 hours.
The drastic move by the Greek government will also see the Athens Stock Exchange remaining closed tomorrow.
Over the weekend people across Greece have been queuing to withdraw their savings from ATMs.
Earlier today the country’s Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis tweeted that imposing capital controls within a monetary union would be a “contradiction in terms”.
The country’s Financial Stability Council met this afternoon to discuss the ongoing crisis and it was indicated that talks set to take place overnight would feature involvement from Frankfurt.
This afternoon Germany has taken the step of advising any of its citizens travelling to Greece to ensure that they “take sufficient amounts of cash” with them and to keep an eye on the evolving situation in the country.
Greece is set to vote on the proposed cash-for-reforms package on 5 July.
However, this coming Tuesday is the deadline for its €1.5 billion debt repayment to the IMF – something it seems now it will almost certainly default on.
Earlier today the EU Commission released the terms of what had been proposed to the Greeks – essentially what will be voted on in their forthcoming referendum.
In the last hour the United States has pushed for a resolution to the Greek debt crisis. It is being reported by The Guardian that US Treasury secretary Jack Lew has spoken to the IMF, Germany and France to urge a resolution to the ongoing difficulties.
First published 16.54
- With additional reporting by AFP
Read: “I wouldn’t like it if the Greeks started telling me what to do”
Also: “Let the people decide” – Greece will hold referendum on bailout deal
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