Athens: European Union has offered Greece a last-minute deal to ease the debt crisis that is threatening the country out of the euro and weaken the foundations of the European Union's single currency.
According to a report by All India Radio, Jean-Claude Juncker, the head of the European Union's executive branch, offered the Greek prime minister, Alex Tsipras, a proposal with possibility of a concession on demands for cuts in bonus payments for the poorest pensioners.
In return, Tsipras would have to accept all of the other creditors' demands, which he had already turned down, and request an emergency meeting of eurozone finance ministers today.
European Unions leaders have warned Greeks that rejecting creditors' proposals in a snap referendum called for next Sunday would mean leaving the euro. German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said the vote would be yes or no to the eurozone.
Greece's current bailout package expires today ending the deadline for a loan repayment of about $1.8 billion. If Greece misses the payment, it would crash out of the group of 19 countries that use the Euro.
European leaders insisted on Monday that a deal was still possible to settle Greece's debt crisis.
Greece's five-year financial crisis took its most dramatic turn yet, with the cabinet deciding after an 8-hour session on Sunday that Greek banks would remain shut for six business days and restrictions would be imposed on cash withdrawals.
The moves were meant to staunch the flow of money out of Greek banks and spur the country's creditors to offer concessions before a bailout program expires Tuesday. The accelerating crisis has thrown into question Greece's financial future and continued membership in the 19-nation shared euro currency — and even the European Union. Asian stock markets sank with indexes in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Sydney down more than 2 percent. Oil prices and the euro also fell.
The European Union's executive Commission, which enforces the bloc's laws, said that Greece's decision to impose capital controls was "prima facie, justified."
Athens has to meet a 1.6 billion euro loan repayment to the International Monetary Fund that is due on June 30.
