Greece referendum on 5 July, effectively a vote about euro membership

Greece referendum seems very likely that will go ahead on Sunday, 5 July. With Greece PM Tsipras calling the referendum and the chances for an agreement having faded, It is believed that, other euro area governments may indeed favor a referendum to finally bring greater clarity about the Greek government's mandate.

German Chancellor Merkel publicly stated Tuesday that there would be no further negotiations until after the referendum. Furthermore, the European institutions are explicitly supporting a 'YES' vote and have made it clear that a 'NO' vote equals an EMU exit.

It seems the referendum has now been embraced by euro area creditor governments, after the Greek PM had initially forced it on them in a surprise move. With no fundamental change in the institutions' offer, Tsipras will have little choice than to maintain his support for a 'NO' vote, as he announced last Friday. This has become even more important, since he publicly declared that he would resign in case of a 'YES' vote. The referendum is thus now about euro membership and Tsipras's future.