After 'No' vote, come up with serious proposals: France to Greece

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SME Times News Bureau | 07 Jul, 2015
French Finance Minister Michel Sapin on Monday asked the anti-austerity Greek government to come up with serious and strong proposals to reach a crucial deal as the "No" vote in Sunday's referendum "does not fix anything".

"It's up to the Greek government to make proposals now. The vote does not fix anything automatically. It's a refusal of an attitude," Sapin said.

Speaking to the local broadcaster Europe 1, Sapin acknowledged that "the thread of dialogue is very tenuous", and urged Athens "to show that it is serious about negotiation and make serious and solid proposals" in order to bridge differences with its creditors and help the debt-ridden country get back again on its feet.

"There is a risk of leaving the euro but there is no automatic exit. In the same way, the vote doesn't mean automatically that Greece stays in the euro. What will determine whether it stays or leaves is the quality of negotiations that will start," the French minister added.

Sapin reiterated France's stance to keep Greece among the member countries of the single-currency bloc, Xinhua news agency reported. He also pledged to help the left-wing Greek government to alleviate the country's debt burden without giving accurate proposals.

Asked about the impact of the Greek crisis on European markets, Sapin rejected the notion that there would be a potential financial turmoil.

"Europe is not in trouble, Europe is facing a Greek problem," he said.

On Sunday, Greeks voted resoundingly to back the government in rejecting the austerity terms of a bailout, raising risks of Grexit.

However, leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has pledged to secure a deal by Tuesday on better terms to unlock further vital funding for the country to stay afloat and in the eurozone.