The President of European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker gave a press conference at midday on Monday, in response to the Greek government’s decision to carry out a referendum on Sunday.
In his statement, Mr. Juncker noted that he is “in favor of a Europe that patiently seeks the common interest rather than the confrontation of national interests and the rivalry of national egos. It is not a poker game during which someone wins and someone loses. Everyone wins, everyone loses” and added that he was “not happy with what happened in Europe last week” and felt ‘betrayed’.
Mr. Juncker urged the Greek people to vote ‘yes’ in the upcoming referendum on Sunday and clarified that the European Commission has no new proposals to submit at the moment. Furthermore, he underlined that should the ‘no’ prevail in the referendum Greece would be “[distancing] itself from Europe”.
Additionally, the EC president argued that the Institutions had been “once again determined” to prepare a deal on Friday, when the Greek government’s abruptly decided to break off the negotiations and called a referendum. Mr. Juncker noted that “to set one democracy against 18. This does not help any European citizen and no Greek citizen. The Greeks must, however, know clearly what is at stake next Sunday”.
In concluding his statement, the European Commission president denied that the Greek government was presented with a “take-it-or-leave-it” ultimatum during the negotiations, claiming that the goal of the institutions was to provide a fair agreement to Greece.
Tsipras contacts Juncker and Schulz
Prior to scheduled press conference, the Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras contacted Mr. Juncker and argued that the closure of the banks, which came as a result of the ECB deciding against increasing liquidity to the banks, hinders the people’s democratic will. Mr. Tsipras urged the Commission chief to take the initiatives so that the Greek people may freely express a their democratic will on Sunday and to reconsider extending the current program for a few days.
The Greek Prime Minister was also contacted by the President of European Parliament Martin Schulz. Mr. Tsipras asked that the European Parliament support’s Greece’s request for a short extension, so that the banks may open, allowing the Greek people to decide how to vote on Sunday. Mr. Schulz responded that he called a meeting of the Parliamentary Group leaders in order to re-examine the request and overall situation and take the appropriate initiatives.
