European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker sent a possible “last-minute” solution to the debt issue to Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to reach a deal before a referendum, a Commission source said Tuesday.
“Having been in contact with PM Tsipras yesterday, the President explained how a last-minute deal could look like,” the source told AFP, adding that it would require accepting reform proposals and backing a “yes” vote on Sunday’s referendum.
Last-minute talks are ongoing within the Greek government in Athens over whether Greece should accept the new, improved offer by Juncker allowing the country to repay part of its debt.
Juncker’s offer includes a change in terms to supplementary allowances to low pensions and hotel VAT at 13 percent, two measures that Greece had insisted on in negotiations.
According to Kathimerini daily, the Greek government “listened with interest to what was being proposed” but rejected the offer.
However, Greece’s national broadcaster ERT said on Tuesday morning that discussions about the proposals were taking place “at the highest level” in Athens. Meanwhile, the mayors of Athens and Thessaloniki met with President of the Hellenic Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos and discussed the importance of Greece signing a deal today, when Greece’s bailout program expires. Giorgos Kaminis, Yiannis Boutaris and Pavlopoulos agreed that it is important for Greece to remain in the Eurozone.
If Greece accepts the deal, bailout funds will be unlocked to repay a 1.6 billion loan tranche to the International Monetary Fund, the deadline of which is today. If Greece refuses the deal, it may have to default on its loans.
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