Bank closures in Greece extended

Greek government extends blank closures and limit on ATM withdrawals as PM is expected to present credible reform proposals to the EU amid fears of an exit from the eurozone

9 July 2015, 8:42am

2 min read

Supporters of the ‘No’ vote celebrate in front of the Greek parliament last Sunday. Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

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The Greek government has extended bank closures and a €60 daily limit on ATM withdrawals, until Monday, according to international media.

The limits were introduced on 28th June, after a stalemate in bailout talks with creditors led to a rush of withdrawals.

The BBC reports that the European Central Bank has decided not to increase support for Greek banks until the debt crisis is resolved. Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says he will submit "credible" reform plans on Thursday - ahead of a Sunday deadline by the EU - to find a solution.

"The bank holiday is extended to July 13," the finance ministry said in a statement late on Wednesday.

The announcement came after the ECB - which has been providing emergency liquidity to keep Greek banks from collapsing - said it would leave its current level of support unchanged.

Greece's last international bailout programme expired on 30 June and it missed an International Monetary Fund (IMF) payment.

The emergency summit to be held on Sunday will involve all 28 EU members - not just the 19 eurozone countries, amid warnings by European Council President Donald Tusk that this was now the "most critical moment in the history of the eurozone".

"The final deadline ends this week," he said after emergency talks of the eurozone leaders in Brussels on Tuesday.

Greece, on the other hand, is desperate for a third bailout to avoid bankruptcy and possibly crashing out of the euro currency.

Speaking during a fractious debate on the Greek debt crisis in the European Parliament on Wednesday, Tsipras said that previous bailouts had turned Greece into an "austerity laboratory".

Lust Sunday, the Greek people rejected the latest proposals from creditors in a referendum, and the Greek government has insisted that there is no threat to food and fuel supplies in the country.

In a statement, the Ministry of Economy, Infrastructures, Maritime Affairs and Tourism "reassures both the Greek citizens and the visitors (tourists) that there are adequate food supplies in the market and that their prices remain stable".