Two Billion Euros Withdrawn from Greek Banks in Three Days

Negotiations between Greece and European officials remain inconclusive. The meeting on June 18 between the finance ministers of Eurozone countries and Greek officials also ended without results. This meeting took place amid increasing likelihood of Greece's exit from the euro monetary union and even the European Union, where the Greeks presented a new proposal to their lenders. According to 'Yanis Varoufakis', the Greek Minister of Finance, this proposal was 'innovative and radical': 'We recognized that there is a trust problem in the Eurozone. Therefore, to overcome this issue, we put a radical proposal on the table at the Eurozone finance ministers' meeting. A proposal that has never been discussed before and was not requested by various institutions.' However, this proposal was not what European officials and lenders expected. They are calling for further reforms in Greece's pension and tax systems. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, reacted to Greece's proposal on June 18, stating: 'We did not hear a complete and credible plan. The Greek Minister of Finance presented a proposal as a financial framework that was previously part of the guidelines of the dual and six-pack. He essentially said that we will now implement what we previously agreed upon in the Eurozone. This was not very effective. What we need are credible actions to fill the gaps in the financial agreements that we are still discussing. Actions that can steer the economy back on the right path.' The changes that lenders are demanding from Greek officials regarding raising the retirement age, increasing taxes, and reducing public spending are considered unfeasible by Athenian officials. They say there is no more room for reforms and pressure on the people. The people, who showed their opposition to further austerity measures by electing the leftist Syriza party in recent elections, are not in favor of such measures. Now, in this situation, the leaders of the 19 Eurozone countries are set to make a final decision regarding the Greek crisis in an extraordinary meeting next Monday. A decision that Alexis Tsipras, the Prime Minister of Greece, says could lead to a resolution of the current crisis. On Friday, he dismissed the impossibility of resolving the Greek crisis, calling the possibility of Greece's exit from the European Union incorrect and stated that a solution will ultimately be found for this crisis. However, despite the Prime Minister's optimism about resolving the crisis, various news agencies, citing sources in different European countries, report that the Eurozone is preparing for the potential exit of Greece from this zone. It has been reported that the European Central Bank is also preparing to cut off the supply of money to Greek banks starting next month. Recently, citizens in Greece have been withdrawing their money from banks more than ever. An European official told the Associated Press that two billion euros have been withdrawn from Greek banks in the past three days. Now, on the eve of the European leaders' meeting on Monday, Alexis Tsipras, who has traveled to Russia, stated that the problem at hand is a European problem. This indicates that Europe must find a solution to this issue and that Greece's potential exit from the European Union could have severe consequences for the union. Shahin Fatemi, an economist in Paris, however, states that Greece's exit would not have the same consequences as in previous years: 'Five years ago, this would have been dangerous. At that time, Portugal, Spain, and to some extent Italy were in trouble. If Greece had exited the euro at that time, it could have triggered a chain reaction. But now the European Union is fully prepared and it would not pose a significant problem for them. On the contrary, it would be very painful for Greece because it would have to return to its old currency, the drachma, and repay all its debts in that currency. The assumption that Europe needs Greece and will accept any conditions is mistaken.' The upcoming meeting of European leaders is scheduled to take place a week before the deadline for repaying part of Athens' debts. Debts that Greece needs to take out more loans to repay.