Greece: the final countdown

Greek PM Tsipras surprised everyone by calling a referendum on 5 July to ask Greeks whether or not they accept the latest proposals presented by the institutions. The Greek government and its ruling coalition is supporting a "No" vote, with the view to re-starting negotiations with creditors with a clear mandate from Greek citizens. PM Tsipras suggested that he would step-down in case of a "Yes" vote and finance minister Varoufakis explicitly confirmed today that he would quit, should Greece vote to accept creditors' proposals.

On 30 June, the EFSF programme expired and the IMF payment fell due. Last-minute efforts to achieve some sort of deal failed, and PM Tsipras' request for a two-year ESM programmewas rejected by the Eurogroup on 1 July. 

In his remarks after the meeting, Eurogroup President Dijsselbloem stated that "there will be no talk in the coming days, either at Eurogroup level or between the Greek authorities and the institutions on proposals or financial arrangements". Instead, member states and the institutions will await the outcome of the referendum on Sunday and take into account its outcome, says Barclays. 

Furthermore, the institutions made clear that as the second bailout extension has actually expired on Tuesday, the remaining funds are not available anymore and a third programme will have to be agreed before new funds can be disbursed, while the IMF confirmed that missing the June payment has closed access to IMF funding until the arrears are cleared.