The Eurogroup does not believe in a successful outcome of the talks with the current Greek government. At the latest emergency meeting, eurozone’s finance ministers unanimously rejected a last-minute request for a one-month extension of Greece’s bailout program. Besides, they concluded that Greece should not rely on extra financial aid. To confirm the gravity of his determination, Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem stated that in case of the “yes” vote in the referendum, Athens will hardly be able to implement terms of the recovery program suggested by the creditors. In accord with the Eurogroup, EU leaders blame Alexis Tsipras for breaking off the talks. They are urging Greek nationals to vote for the deal with the creditors in the referendum. Athens stressed that the referendum will be not about staying in the euro area as “the answer will be absolutely yes”. The referendum will be about if Greeks will agree to carry the burden of austerity reforms. However, big names in Berlin, Paris, and Brussels warned that Greeks are going to vote either on the eurozone membership under their terms or a return to drachma. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker also said dire warnings of what a “no” vote could mean for their future in Europe. The policymaker accused Greece’s Premier Alexis Tsipras of distorting the bailout terms when the agreement had been almost ready. So the talks collapsed and the bailout referendum was called. Germany’s Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel termed the Greek leader the threat to the European order. Gabriel said that Tsipras’ radicalism is directed at the policy of mainstream Europe. From his viewpoint, Tsipras is doomed to failure as he wants to force EU leaders to rewrite the rules underpinning the euro bloc.
