Greece to Offer New Proposals to Creditors Ahead of Emergency EU Summit

Greece will offer new proposals to creditors ahead of an emergency EU summit planned for June 22, State Minister Alekos Flambouraris has said.

Alekos Flambouraris also told Greek media he believed the European Central Bank (ECB) would not allow the country’s banks to collapse.

Reports say billions of euros have been withdrawn from Greek banks in the past week.

The summit comes amid attempts to prevent Greece defaulting on a €1.6 billion IMF loan repayment.

The European Commission, the IMF and the ECB are unwilling to unlock bailout funds until Greece agrees to reforms.

They want Greece to implement a series of economic changes in areas such as pensions, VAT and on the budget surplus before releasing €7.2 billion of funds, which have been delayed since February.

Details of the new proposals have not yet been released.

Greek PM Alexis Tsipras has said he believes “there will be a solution based on respecting EU rules and democracy which would allow Greece to return to growth in the euro”.

However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned there must be a deal between Greece and its creditors ahead of June 22 summit.

Otherwise, Angela Merkel said, the summit would not be able to make any decision.

Alexis Tsipras was due to hold further talks with his negotiating team in Athens on June 20.

Greece has less than two weeks before the IMF loan repayment is due.

If Greece fails to make the repayment, it risks having to leave the eurozone and possibly also the EU.

On June 19, the European Central Bank (ECB) approved more emergency help for Greece’s banks. The amount of extra funding has not been officially disclosed.

Reuters news agency said withdrawals by Greek savers between Monday and Friday reached about €4.2 billion, which represents about 3% of household and corporate deposits held by Greek banks at the end of April.

Close to €1 billion was withdrawn on Friday alone, the financial website Euro2day said.

“There are no lines [queues] or panic, it has been a quiet and gradual phase of withdrawals,” one banker told Reuters.