European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker made a new proposal to Athens “at the last minute” in an attempt to reach an agreement on the debt issue, Reuters has learned . According to the agency's sources in the European Union and the Greek government, Juncker invited Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to respond with written consent on Tuesday, at the start of an emergency meeting of the Eurogroup, and promise to agitate the population to vote for the proposals of international creditors in a referendum on July 5. The agency's Greek source noted that Tsipras listened to this proposal with interest, but refused and promised to vote “no” to the creditors’ demands in the referendum. Previously, he called the conditions put forward by creditors to continue the financial assistance program for Greece “humiliating.”

The main proposals of the European Commission and the ECB, which Tsipras was asked to agree to in writing, were published last Sunday, Reuters recalls. In particular, the Greeks were asked to set VAT on Greek hotel services at 13% instead of 23%, as creditors had previously insisted. The response letter should have been sent to Juncker, the head of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dysselbloem, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande in such a way that after its receipt it would be possible to have time to convene an emergency meeting of the Eurogroup on Tuesday.

The President of the European Commission made the latest offer to Greece