Europe
Greece debt crisis: Eurozone to discuss new bailout
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- Europe
Eurozone ministers are to discuss a Greek request for a new bailout, hours after Athens missed the deadline for a €1.5bn (£1.1bn, $1.7bn) payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
On Tuesday, eurozone finance ministers refused to extend the previous bailout following the collapse of talks.
As a result, Greece became the first European Union country to fail to repay an IMF loan and is now in arrears.
There are fears that this could force Greece out of the eurozone.
In one of two crucial meetings on Wednesday afternoon, officials with the European Central Bank (ECB) will decide whether to grant an emergency loan to Greece.
In the second, eurozone finance ministers will discuss Greece's latest proposal for a third bailout. It would last two years and amount to €29.1bn.
Ministers discuss the proposal in a conference call at 15:30 GMT.
A senior adviser to the Greek government, Elena Panaritis, told the BBC they expected a bailout to be agreed on Wednesday.
Analysis: Chris Morris, Europe correspondent
For the first time in five years of crisis, the Greek government has no access to any kind of international funding from the EU and the IMF. It is skating on thin ice.
The ECB will also decide whether the collateral offered by Greek banks in return for tens of billion of euros in emergency loans is still sufficient.
Greek banks are already closed after ECB funding was capped at the weekend. So Greece's hold on its place in the eurozone, the single currency area that has become the most important symbol of European unity, is more tenuous than ever.
In other developments:
- Ratings agency Fitch cut Greece's credit rating from "CCC" to "CC" on Tuesday evening, which is one level above a full default
- Shares in Asia and Europe rose slightly despite concerns over Greece's stability
Deadlock
The IMF confirmed that Greece had failed to make the payment, shortly after the deadline on Tuesday.
IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said the organisation had received a request from Greece to extend the payment deadline, which he said would go to the board "in due course".
With the eurozone bailout expired, Greece no longer has access to billions of euros in funds.
Only three other countries are still in arrears to the IMF - Sudan, Somalia and Zimbabwe. Between them, they owe €1.6bn, only marginally more than Greece.
The ECB has also frozen its liquidity lifeline to Greek banks, that did not open this week.
Withdrawals from cash machines are capped at just €60 a day and long queues have been forming outside banks.
However, up to 1,000 branches re-opened on Wednesday to allow pensioners - many of whom do not use bank cards - a one-off weekly withdrawal of up to €120.
Greek newspaper headlines on Wednesday
Ta Nea (centre-left): "Fears of levy on deposits" - "The ghost of Maidan [Square in central Kiev, Ukraine] over Syntagma Square: The tension between pro-European and anti-European supporters is mounting as we approach Sunday's referendum, leading to fears of Ukraine-style division"
I Efimerida (left-of-centre): "'NO' ahead" - "But blackmail of bank closure is catalyst for people's decision"
Ethnos (centrist): "Zero hour" - "The country under siege since midnight"
I Avyi (pro-government): "'NO" a catalyst for a new deal
Rizospastis (Communist Party newspaper): "They are asking for a new 'bailout deal' noose for the people!"
Eleftheros Typos (right-of-centre): "Greece defaults and Tsipras plays" - "In confusion, the prime minister asks for a restructure of the bailout and a strict agreement"bbc
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