Eurozone receives new Greek bail-out plan

  • 10/07/2015
Greeks overwhelmingly voted in a referendum to reject previous austerity demands from international creditors (AAP)
Greeks overwhelmingly voted in a referendum to reject previous austerity demands from international creditors (AAP)

Less than two hours ahead of a midnight deadline the eurozone has received new bail-out reform plans from Greece.

Details of the new plans were not immediately available, but debt-stricken Greece's creditors have demanded pension cuts and tax reforms in return for a new rescue package.

Leaders of the 19-country single currency area gave Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras the deadline at an emergency summit on Tuesday, warning that failure to comply risked Greece's place in the euro.

Greeks overwhelmingly voted in a referendum on Sunday to reject previous austerity demands from international creditors in exchange for a new aid program to replace the one that expired on June 30.

The cash strapped country needs money to reopen its banks which have been closed for nearly two weeks, and eurozone leaders have warned that the European Central Bank will cut emergency funding if it does not reach a new deal.

The new reform proposals will now be scrutinised by officials from Greece's EU-IMF creditors, before going before eurozone finance ministers on Saturday and a full summit of all 28 European Union leaders on Sunday.

"The (creditor) institutions will examine them to give their view to the Eurogroup," a European source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

"They also need these proposals to determine the size of the bailout program - that will also depend upon broader economic scenarios," the source said.

Greece's application letter on Wednesday to the eurozone's bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, called for a three-year program but did not say how much money was needed.

AFP