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| Greek debt crisis: Council of State to rule on referendum - live | Greek debt crisis: Council of State to rule on referendum - live |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 8.44am BST08:44 | |
| Varoufakis: "No" vote = debt relief deal "Yes" vote = June 26 deal Neither of these options, he omits to mention, are currently on offer | |
| 8.41am BST08:41 | |
| Varoufakis said that even if the yes side won, it would be “a narrow victory” and Syriza would still be the only party capable of running the country. | |
| He admitted the Greek government had made mistakes: “It would be arrogant to day we hadn’t - we’re not professionals at this.” | |
| 8.39am BST08:39 | |
| Deal more or less done - Varoufakis | |
| Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has said that whatever the outcome of the referendum a deal is almost done, and there have been private discussions with the ECB and EU during the week. | |
| Speaking on RTE radio in Ireland he said a deal was “in the offing,” | |
| If the vote was yes, the Greek government would sign on the dotted line. | |
| If no, they had had some decent proposals from Europe in confidence. | |
| 8.15am BST08:15 | |
| Referendum question not legally correct - EC's Dombrovskis | |
| Greeks are being asked a question in the referendum which is not factually or legally correct, according to European Commission vice-president Valdis Dombrovskis has said. | |
| In an interview with Die Welt, he said: | |
| The referendum question is neither factually nor legally correct. | |
| The proposals of the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund, which are to be voted on are based on a now expired credit program. The Euro Group has not accepted or declined. They do not correspond to the final state of negotiations - as Tsipras announced the referendum, we were still in the middle of the talks. The Greeks, however, on Sunday will also send a political signal to the rest of Europe. A yes will mean that they want to work closely with the other euro-zone countries to find a solution. A No would make the differences even more evident, and a solution more complicated. | |
| He added: | |
| It would be wrong to assume that a No would strengthen the Greek negotiating position. The opposite is the case. Following the closure of banks and the introduction of capital controls to attain financial stability again, it has become more complicated and more expensive. Greece is in a substantially worse situation than it was last week. | |
| The full interview is here in German. | |
| Updated at 8.16am BST | |
| 8.03am BST08:03 | 8.03am BST08:03 |
| Markets have opened cautiously, with the FTSE 100 down just 4 points, Germany off 0.3% and Italy, Spain and France flat. | Markets have opened cautiously, with the FTSE 100 down just 4 points, Germany off 0.3% and Italy, Spain and France flat. |
| 8.00am BST08:00 | 8.00am BST08:00 |
| On the economic front, there are service sector PMI figures due from Italy, France, Germany and the eurozone as a whole, as well as the UK. | On the economic front, there are service sector PMI figures due from Italy, France, Germany and the eurozone as a whole, as well as the UK. |
| The US, of course, is closed for the Independence Day holiday. | The US, of course, is closed for the Independence Day holiday. |
| Updated at 8.01am BST | Updated at 8.01am BST |
| 7.56am BST07:56 | 7.56am BST07:56 |
| Greece’s finance minister clearly relishes the IMF saying the country needs an agreement on debt relief: | Greece’s finance minister clearly relishes the IMF saying the country needs an agreement on debt relief: |
| IMF Agrees With Athens That Greece Needs Debt Relief - The New York Times http://t.co/5c6vp0Y407 | IMF Agrees With Athens That Greece Needs Debt Relief - The New York Times http://t.co/5c6vp0Y407 |
| 7.54am BST07:54 | 7.54am BST07:54 |
| Introduction: Greece awaits referendum developments | Introduction: Greece awaits referendum developments |
| As the referendum clock ticks down towards Sunday’s vote, there is still an outside chance it will not even go ahead. | As the referendum clock ticks down towards Sunday’s vote, there is still an outside chance it will not even go ahead. |
| The Council of State, Greece’s top administrative court, is due to rule on whether it breaches the country’s constitution. Human rights group the Council of Europe has alaready expressed unhappiness with the vote, partly due to the speed of the process and also the question being asked. | The Council of State, Greece’s top administrative court, is due to rule on whether it breaches the country’s constitution. Human rights group the Council of Europe has alaready expressed unhappiness with the vote, partly due to the speed of the process and also the question being asked. |
| Meanwhile the latest poll shows a slight lead for the Yes side - those in favour of accepting the creditors’ proposals. The ALCO polling institute poll, published in the Ethnos newspaper, showed 44.8% for Yes, 43.4% for No and 11.8% undecided. | Meanwhile the latest poll shows a slight lead for the Yes side - those in favour of accepting the creditors’ proposals. The ALCO polling institute poll, published in the Ethnos newspaper, showed 44.8% for Yes, 43.4% for No and 11.8% undecided. |
| Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has already said he would resign if the Yes vote won the day. | Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis has already said he would resign if the Yes vote won the day. |
| Meanwhile Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras remained defiant as he used another TV appearance to repeat his call for a No vote. | Meanwhile Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras remained defiant as he used another TV appearance to repeat his call for a No vote. |
| He hit out at former prime ministers who had lined up to support the Yes side, and also suggested the IMF, which on Thursday said Greece would need an extra €60bn of funding and that debt relief had to be part of any new bailout, could have spoken up earlier. | He hit out at former prime ministers who had lined up to support the Yes side, and also suggested the IMF, which on Thursday said Greece would need an extra €60bn of funding and that debt relief had to be part of any new bailout, could have spoken up earlier. |
| Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: | Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said: |
| Post-referendum looks pretty bleak for Greece either way but a ‘No’ vote carries a lot more short term risk. Evidence from the past five months is surely enough to show that muddling out-of-touch bureaucrats in Athens and the Eurozone will not reach a deal before there’s a banking crisis. Without the European Central Bank’s emergency funding, estimates are that Greece’s banks are days from insolvency, even with only 60 euros being withdrawn a day under capital controls. | Post-referendum looks pretty bleak for Greece either way but a ‘No’ vote carries a lot more short term risk. Evidence from the past five months is surely enough to show that muddling out-of-touch bureaucrats in Athens and the Eurozone will not reach a deal before there’s a banking crisis. Without the European Central Bank’s emergency funding, estimates are that Greece’s banks are days from insolvency, even with only 60 euros being withdrawn a day under capital controls. |
| Later come major rallies for both sides in Athens, as supporters gather in the last hours before the vote. | Later come major rallies for both sides in Athens, as supporters gather in the last hours before the vote. |