EUROZONE-GREECE/VAROUFAKIS Finance minister arrives for talks on Greece's deepest crisis in years

Record ID: 149044

  • Title: EUROZONE-GREECE/VAROUFAKIS Finance minister arrives for talks on Greece's deepest crisis in years
  • Date: 29th June 2015
  • Summary: ATHENS, GREECE (JUNE 29, 2015) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF GREEK FINANCE MINISTRY SIGN ON BUILDING'S FACADE READING (Greek): 'FINANCE MINISTRY' GREEK AND EU FLAG WAVING ON MINISTRY'S ROOFTOP VARIOUS OF CAMERA CREWS AND JOURNALISTS WAITING OUTSIDE FINANCE MINISTRY ENTRANCE GREEK FINANCE MINISTER, YANIS VAROUFAKIS, ON HIS MOTORBIKE OUTSIDE MINISTRY, CROWD OF JOURNALISTS SURROUNDS
  • Embargoed: 14th July 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABM298NTMZGJ0DIZ98IGAJGZWR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As Greek ATMs ran out of cash on Monday (June 29) the Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis seemed to run out of words as he entered the ministry for talks with the economic team.
    The government announced it was closing banks on Monday and restricting cash withdrawals to 60 euros a day. Cash machines were largely empty in the morning and were due to re-start from noon local time (0900gmt).
    This was the immediate fall out of the breakdown in talks between Athens and its creditors which pushed the austerity-battered country to the brink.
    The government is now trying to prevent the collapse of the banking system under the weight of mass withdrawals after receiving no extra emergency funding for Greek lenders from the European Central Bank.
    Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said very little as he made his way into the ministry surrounded by journalists firing questions at him. He is due to address the media on capital controls later in the day. The Economy Minister George Stathakis followed shortly after.
    Greece has less than 48 hours to pay back 1.6 billion euros ($1.77 billion) of International Monetary Fund loans, and a default would set in train events that could lead to the country's eventual exit from the euro currency bloc.
    But after Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras angered Greece's international lenders by announcing a snap referendum on the terms of a cash-for-reforms deal, hopes of a last-minute breakthrough are fading fast.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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