Most high-profile European leaders didn’t mince their words on Monday in the wake of the weekend’s dramatic twin “Grecian surprises” — a snap referendum and week-long capital controls — with the consensus being that the July 5 plebiscite will essentially decide Greece’s membership in the euro zone.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande said they will not offer the radical leftist government in Athens any more concessions.
Hollande said the surprise and urgently organized referendum will determine whether Greece can stay the 19-country euro area, whereas Merkel said Europe’s credibility was at stake with its response.
“If the euro fails, Europe will fail,” Merkel said in an address in Berlin. “That’s why we have to fight for these principles. We could maybe set them aside in the short term. We could maybe say we’ll just give in. But I say: in the medium and long term, we will suffer damage that way.”
On his part, Hollande acknowledged that it’s a sovereign right of Greece to hold the poll, before warning: “what’s at stake is serious,” he said after an emergency Cabinet meeting in Paris.
“It’s about knowing if the Greek people want to stay in the euro zone … That is their place, in my eyes, but it’s up to them to decide. Or they take the risk of leaving.”
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was even more emphatic, saying that “you shouldn’t commit suicide because you’re afraid of dying; You should say ‘yes’ regardless of what the question is… A ‘no’ vote in the referendum “will mean that Greece is saying no to Europe,” he underlined.
European Union President Donald Tusk also warned the leftist government that a “no” vote won’t give them more leverage to seek a better deal with creditors.
He told reporters in Brussels that “every government has a right to hold a referendum, therefore, we respect the Greek decision … However, one thing should be very clear: if someone says that the government will have a stronger negotiating position with the ‘no’ vote, it is simply not true.”
He added: “I’m afraid that which such a result of referendum, there will be even less space for negotiation.”
From Rome, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, one of the more friendlier European leaders vis-a-vis the SYRIZA government, said the Greek referendum was a choice on whether to stay in the euro zone.
“The point is: Greek referendum won’t be a derby EU Commission vs Tsipras, but euro vs drachma. This is the choice,” Renzi wrote on Twitter, and in English.
Finally, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was caustic in his criticism of Greek PM Alexis Tsipras.
“Due to the irresponsibly of its prime minister, Greece has suspended itself from the eurozone,” he added.
