07 July 2015, 12:20 / Economics

Juncker: Actually, what did the Greeks vote for?

The Chairman of the European Commission condemned both supporters of the expulsion of Greece from the eurozone and the Greeks for the word “terrorists” Natalya Raibman Jean-Claude Juncker did not understand what the Greeks voted against in the referendum / Virginia Mayo / AP

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker opposed Greece's exit from the eurozone and warned that it would not be possible to quickly find a way out of the Greek crisis. According to the BBC, he said this to members of the European Parliament on the morning of July 7. Later in the day, Juncker plans to attend a eurozone summit to discuss the post-referendum situation.

"We were told that we should respect the will of the Greek people, and of course I will do that. The people of Greece expressed their opinion, and I would like to understand what they wanted to say. They were asked a question about something that no longer exists," he was quoted as saying by the Financial Times. He suggested that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras might want to explain in detail what people were asking in the referendum, "but maybe that would be too much of a circus." According to Bloomberg, Tsipras's latest counterproposals addressed to Greece's creditors were no longer on the negotiating table. Earlier, Western media noted that the Greeks were invited to speak out at the referendum about their readiness to fulfill the conditions of the creditors, which were not officially announced. "I am against Grexit, but we need to discuss what it means to 'respect the results of the Greek vote,'" quotes Juncker as saying. Business Insider

Juncker also condemned the choice of the word “terrorists”, which Greek government representatives used to describe their European partners. He called such language unacceptable and called for a lower level of rhetoric. The FT suggests that the intended statement was from former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis.

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Juncker also called the Greek delegation’s withdrawal from the negotiations unacceptable. “They don’t do this in Europe,” the BBC quotes. According to him, in this crisis every effort must be made to find a solution. "This cannot be done today. Today we can only outline the path to a solution through negotiations and mutual understanding," he said. After it became known that the Tsipras government had decided to hold a referendum on July 5, Juncker said that he felt like a victim of betrayal. Now, he said, the ball is in the court of the Greek government. Earlier, representatives of the Eurogroup said that after the referendum, new reform proposals were expected from Greece.

“There are those in the EU who, openly or not, are pushing Greece to leave the eurozone. My life experience tells me that simplified answers are the wrong solutions,” TASS quotes Juncker. According to him, all of Europe is a compromise. Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said before the referendum that Europe exists thanks to its ability to compromise and the inability to find it in this situation will mean the end of Europe. The exclusion of Greece from the eurozone or the European Union is not what the European Commission would like, Juncker said. “The European Commission will continue to work towards resuming negotiations with Greece,” Prime quotes him as saying.

Luxembourg named the condition for writing off part of Greece's debt

If Athens agrees to carry out a package of reforms, eurozone governments may consider writing off part of Greece's debt, Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna said. He is quoted by Reuters. The day before, he commented in detail on the situation, reminding that the Greek problem has been occupying Europe since 2010, that Europeans should respect Greek democracy, but Greece should also respect 18 other democracies, since they are effective and legitimate. He also does not understand how the Greek government is going to resolve the obvious contradiction: refusal of reforms and at the same time refusal to leave the eurozone. Ultimately, what will happen to Greece will be decided by the people of Greece, he said. He is quoted by Le Quotidien. He also insisted that there was no Plan B. More than a week ago, having learned about the Greek government’s plan to hold a referendum, representatives of the Eurogroup said that Athens, in fact, abandoned negotiations, refusal of reforms and savings means choosing to leave the eurozone and all that remains is to discuss Plan B - Grexit and minimizing its negative consequences for the entire eurozone.

Whatever happens in Greece, its economy needs “substantial reforms,” Finnish Finance Minister Alexander Stubb wrote in his blog. It is now up to the Greek government to interpret what the referendum results mean in practice, he said. In his assessment, the second aid program for Greece has ended and cannot be continued,” while the instruments and rules for providing further aid remained unchanged, quotes . Deutsche Welle

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France vs. Grexit

The fact that the Greeks rejected the reforms cannot mean that they will now get money more easily, Slovak Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Peter Kazhimir wrote on Twitter. He called Greece's exit from the eurozone a "realistic scenario."

France believes that we cannot risk allowing Greece to leave the eurozone, said Prime Minister Manuel Valls. He is quoted by AFP. In his opinion, if Greece leaves the eurozone, this will have consequences for the entire world economy. He is convinced that there is a basis for a deal with Greece and there should be no taboo topics in the discussion of Greek debt restructuring. He assured that France will do everything to ensure that Greece remains in the eurozone.

The US calls on the parties to compromise

Greece voted against reforms and austerity measures in referendum

61.31% of voters were against the measures insisted on by the IMF, ECB and EU

“Given that the majority voted against, we can conclude that Greece said no to receiving assistance from international partners and staying in the eurozone,” said Latvian Finance Minister Janis Reirs. According to Deutsche Welle, he is confident that the Greek government has brought its people to disaster. “A Greek “no” to the referendum will make any negotiations extremely difficult, Latvia will evaluate them with great caution,” warned Latvian Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma.

The US administration has resumed attempts to push the parties to a compromise, writes The Wall Street Journal. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said that keeping Greece in the eurozone will require continued financial support for Greece and its implementation of reforms that will allow the country to achieve, or at least get on the path to achieving, an acceptable level of debt. He also recalled that Greece should implement the reforms that it has already promised to carry out. Ernest, however, noted that the Greek crisis will not have a serious impact on the US economy, although US exports to the eurozone may ultimately decrease. He recalled that the United States has repeatedly made it clear that resolving the contradictions in this situation would be in America's interests, but ultimately the responsibility for overcoming the crisis lies with the Europeans.

Estonian Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas of the right-wing liberal Reform Party stated that “reforms in Greece are still inevitable and the decision to reject an international offer of help will make the situation critical,” Deutsche Welle quotes.

Earlier in a telephone conversation, US and French Presidents Barack Obama and Francois Hollande admitted that to resolve the crisis, all parties would have to make a difficult compromise. US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, in a phone call with Tsipras and new Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, said he expected Greece, the European institutions and the IMF to return to negotiations to find a constructive solution.

Japan also calls for compromise

Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari called on Greece and the European Union to do everything possible to contain the consequences of the crisis, writes The Guardian. He said all parties should strive for a mutually beneficial agreement that would allow Greece to remain in the eurozone despite Greek voters' refusal to support austerity measures. According to the minister, Greece has already done a lot to strengthen financial discipline, cutting pensions and salaries, and now there is deflation in the country and the Greeks are disappointed against this background.

Previously on the topic: “Yes” or “no” – which is worse for Greece and the EU