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| Greek crisis: ECB to decide on emergency funding | Greek crisis: ECB to decide on emergency funding |
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| The European Central Bank was facing one of the most momentous decisions of its brief history on Sunday as its board members considered whether to keep providing more of the emergency lending that has kept Greek banks open despite a steady run on deposits that accelerated dramatically at the weekend. | |
| An ECB spokesman declined to comment on reports that the board had already made up its mind to scrap the programme, known as Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA). But a source hinted that talks were already in progress on Sunday morning. | An ECB spokesman declined to comment on reports that the board had already made up its mind to scrap the programme, known as Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA). But a source hinted that talks were already in progress on Sunday morning. |
| Earlier, the Greek parliament upped the stakes when it voted 178 to 120 in favour of holding the referendum proposed by the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, on Friday. Embarrassingly for his radical left-led coalition, the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party joined it in endorsing the proposal, which has to be approved by Greece’s president, Prokopsis Pavlopoulos. | Earlier, the Greek parliament upped the stakes when it voted 178 to 120 in favour of holding the referendum proposed by the prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, on Friday. Embarrassingly for his radical left-led coalition, the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party joined it in endorsing the proposal, which has to be approved by Greece’s president, Prokopsis Pavlopoulos. |
| As his debt-laden country edged ever closer to exit from the eurozone, queues formed at ATMs in many parts of Athens. Lines of cars waited at petrol stations and supermarkets reported a higher than usual volume of sales as worried Greeks bought in stocks to see them through a possible crisis. Yet in the centre and more fashionable areas, there was a slightly unreal air of normality. | As his debt-laden country edged ever closer to exit from the eurozone, queues formed at ATMs in many parts of Athens. Lines of cars waited at petrol stations and supermarkets reported a higher than usual volume of sales as worried Greeks bought in stocks to see them through a possible crisis. Yet in the centre and more fashionable areas, there was a slightly unreal air of normality. |
| That was not the only paradox in the fast-evolving crisis. If the head of state gives his blessing to a referendum next Sunday, Greeks may be called to vote on a proposal from Greece’s creditors that will no longer be on offer. | That was not the only paradox in the fast-evolving crisis. If the head of state gives his blessing to a referendum next Sunday, Greeks may be called to vote on a proposal from Greece’s creditors that will no longer be on offer. |
| The latest proposal from the ECB, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European commission was based on Greece’s bailout programme, which is due to expire on Tuesday. But on Saturday the so-called Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers turned down Tsipras’s request for a one-month extension so the referendum could be held without external pressures. | The latest proposal from the ECB, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European commission was based on Greece’s bailout programme, which is due to expire on Tuesday. But on Saturday the so-called Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers turned down Tsipras’s request for a one-month extension so the referendum could be held without external pressures. |
| According to two polls published on Sunday, the prime minister faces an uphill battle to secure the rejection he has indicated that he favours. One in the right-leaning tabloid Proto Thema found 57% of those interviewed favoured acceptance of the creditors’ latest offer. Another in the centre-left To Vima put support at 47%. | According to two polls published on Sunday, the prime minister faces an uphill battle to secure the rejection he has indicated that he favours. One in the right-leaning tabloid Proto Thema found 57% of those interviewed favoured acceptance of the creditors’ latest offer. Another in the centre-left To Vima put support at 47%. |
| Syriza’s MPs voted in a bloc for the referendum, together with their coalition partners from the radical right Anel party. They were joined by 16 of Golden Dawn’s 17 lawmakers. One Syriza MP and a Golden Dawn member were absent from the vote, which was taken in the early hours of Sunday. | Syriza’s MPs voted in a bloc for the referendum, together with their coalition partners from the radical right Anel party. They were joined by 16 of Golden Dawn’s 17 lawmakers. One Syriza MP and a Golden Dawn member were absent from the vote, which was taken in the early hours of Sunday. |
| Austria’s finance minister, Hans Jörg Schelling, intensified the drama, telling the daily Die Presse that Greece would have to leave the EU before leaving the eurozone. He said its departure from the single currency “appeared almost inevitable now” but that this would only be possible if Athens first asked to leave the European Union and other countries agreed to its request. | |
| “It’s clear that one country can under no circumstances blackmail the European commission and the euro countries,” the paper quoted Schelling as saying. | “It’s clear that one country can under no circumstances blackmail the European commission and the euro countries,” the paper quoted Schelling as saying. |