Greece Debt Crisis: Country Faces Another Round of Deadlines
Here are the next major deadlines for Greece and other European nations.
— -- With an economic catastrophe looming for Greece, the nation has until the end of today to submit a proposal for what would be its third bailout.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his cabinet are meeting before they present their plans to their European creditors. Then, those plans will be analyzed by Eurozone's finance ministers on Saturday with a full European Union summit on Sunday with its 28-member countries.
Here is the latest on the ongoing situation:
Latest deadlines
Greece has already missed its deadline of 1.5 billion euros last month to the International Monetary Fund. Next on the calendar is a 3.5 billion euro debt due to the European Central Bank on July 20.
The country's latest proposal will likely include cuts in public spending and some tax increases, though a majority of Greek voters rejected austerity measures in a referendum on July 5. On Wednesday, the country requested a new three-year aid program from Europe.
Spending sprees
Meanwhile, the Greek people still face a cash crunch since withdrawals have been limited to 60 euros a day since June 29.
While many ATMs are running out of cash in the country, some Greeks are reportedly using credit cards to buy expensive goods like Apple computers, Bloomberg reports.
The consider goods like those a "safe haven" of sorts while they fear they won't be able to access their cash.
Low medical supplies
And the fear of a medicine shortage looms over the country, which owes more than 1 billion euros to foreign pharmaceutical companies for supplies shipped in the first half of this year, according to the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations.
Next steps
A deal to keep Greece in the Eurozone for now still appears to be the most likely outcome, as both Greece and its creditors have more to lose than gain from a default and "Grexit," Boston College economics professor Peter Ireland said.
"Nevertheless, the politics have become so complex and the distrust on both sides so deep, that nothing can be taken for granted," Ireland said. "Unfortunately, what we can expect is more uncertainty and more volatility, heading into the weekend and probably extending into early next week.”
Former economist with the Clinton administration Robert Murphy agreed that a deal keeping Greece in the Eurozone is the most likely outcome, coupled with market volatility and increased uncertainty for the people of Greece and the region.
Foremost, any deal will need to have a commitment to debt restructuring, said Murphy. Greece's public debt is 177 percent of its gross domestic product. The U.S. Treasury Secretary Lew and IMF managing director Christine LaGarde reiterated in strong terms the necessity of providing debt relief to Greece.
"Combined with Prime Minister Tsipras' need to salvage some victory in return for more austerity and market reforms, a deal that includes a commitment to debt restructuring appears to be the only path forward now," said Murphy.
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