Let’s be clear. The only reason EU wants to lend money to Greece is so Greece can pay back earlier loans. EU big banks and central banks then would not have to mark-to-market the toxic slop on their books. This is all about pretend-and-extend to protect their dicey institutions and has nothing to do with helping Greece.
Greece called for a July 5 referendum on EU bailout conditions. The EU responded by breaking off negotiations and refusing a one month bailout extension. Banks in Greece are running out of money and some may not open on Monday.
Greece asked for a one-month extension of its expiring rescue deal, but the request was swiftly rejected by the rest of the eurozone, three European officials said Saturday.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis made the request at a meeting with his eurozone counterparts here, a day after the government in Athens said it would hold a referendum on its bailout in which it would campaign against the policy overhauls and budget cuts demanded by its creditors.
It is quite possible EU wants the Gfreek government to falkl so then they can really install “austerity” AKA “Let’s pillage the country”.
As for the reason why Tsipras had to punt, it is a simple one: at the core of the ongoing Greek negotiation debacle is the inability of the local people to decide what they want: according to various recent polls 80% of Greeks want to stay in the Eurozone and keep the Euro currency, the problem is that 80% also want an end to austerity. Two conditions which are mutually exclusive. It is no surprise then that Tsipras had no clue how to proceed based on his mandate.