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Sunday, July 12, 2015

6 things to know about this weekend's pivotal Greek talks

Source: www.vox.com - Sunday, July 12, 2015 European leaders are meeting again in Brussels today to decide on Greece's future — in or out of the eurozone. They've signaled that this weekend could be Greece's last chance to remain in the common currency. Here are six things you should know. 1) The Greek parliament basically capitulated on Friday The last few months have seen a stalemate between Greece and its European creditors, with European leaders demanding big tax hikes and big cuts to pensions and Greece resisting these changes. A week ago Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras held a referendum on Europe's proposals, and the Greek people decisively rejected them. Yet a few days later, the Greek parliament put forward a reform proposal that was similar to the European plan they had been rejecting for weeks. They did this after it became clear that they had no real leverage. The European creditors didn't feel bound by a vote of the Greek people, and it's the Greeks, not the rest of Europe, who are suffering most from the current stalemate. 2) Some Europeans doubt Greece will keep its promises A big obstacle to reaching the deal is that some European countries don't believe the Greeks will faithfully implement the reforms they agreed to on Friday. They point out that Greece has been deceptive in the past. For example, when the eurozone was created, member countries were required to achieve low deficits and low inflation before they could join the club. Greece was admitted iAll Related


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