The finance ministers of the eurozone have rejected a Greek request to extend the deadline of its bailout program until after a planned July 5 referendum.
Eurozone officials, said the finance ministers would continue meeting in an informal session without Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis.
The Eurogroup statement on Greece:
At a press conference, Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said that regrettably Greek government has broken down negotiations and the bailout programme will expire on Tuesday night.
“Given that situation, I think we might conclude that however regretful, the programme will expire Tuesday night,” the minister said.
Dijsselbloem said that because Athens called a referendum and rejected the latest proposals by the creditors, the ministers were left with no choice, leaving Greece without a financial lifeline for the first time since the crisis erupted five years ago.
“Regrettably, despite efforts at all levels and full support of the Eurogroup, this proposal has been rejected by the Greek authorities who broke off the programme negotiations … unilaterally,” a statement by the Eurogroup of ministers said.
Eurogroup will hold an 18-minister meeting after the press conference, excluding Greek delegation to discuss further steps to take to maintain the stability in the Eurozone.
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