Athens: Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announced yesterday that the country’s crisis-hit banks will be shut today and capital controls imposed to prevent withdrawals, after cash machines ran dry.
The emergency measures were agreed at a cabinet meeting after a gathering of Greece’s systemic stability council, called after Eurogroup eurozone finance ministers refused to extend its bailout beyond tomorrow, sparking default fears over an IMF loan repayment due the same day.
The European Central Bank (ECB) subsequently left its Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) financial lifeline for Greek banks unchanged.
“This decision (by Eurogroup) led today the ECB not to raise ELA for the Greek government and made the Bank of Greece ask for the activation of measures of bank holiday and restriction of bank withdrawals,” Tsipras said in a statement that also called again for an extension to Greece’s current bailout programme.
The Greek stock market will also remain closed today as part of measures designed to prevent fresh panic. Ahead of the announcement, Greeks raced to find functioning cash machines in an increasingly anxious run on the banks, as speculation mounted over impending drastic restrictions.
“It’s more than obvious that this (Eurogroup) decision has no other goal than to blackmail Greek people ... and to raise obstacles to the democratic process of the referendum,” Tsipras added in the statement.
“People’s deposits are safe, totally safe. Equally safe is the reimbursement of salaries and pensions,” he added.
AFP
