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+++ Greek debt crisis - live updates +++

July 7, 2015

An emergency eurozone meeting is to be held in Brussels in the wake of Greece's 'no' referendum vote. Read about the latest developments in Greece's ongoing debt crisis here.

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Griechenland Demonstration Referendum in Thessaloniki
Image: DW/A. Kalaitzi

All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC)

16:17 Athens has made improvements to last week's proposals. An anonymous government source said that these included reforms, funding, investment programs and debt settlement.

16:02 French President Francois Hollande: "the objective is have Greece remain in the eurozone."

16:00 German Chancellor Angela Merkel: "it is not a matter of weeks but of a few days" to save Greece from collapse.

15:55 Reuters news agency says that a Greek government official described today's eurozone summit as a preparation, not designed for taking decisions.

15:43 AFP news agency quotes French President Francois Hollande as saying, "the decisions (on Greece) have to be taken within this week."

15:27 Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras speaks to US President Barack Obama on the telephone ahead of the emergency eurozone summit.

15:08 AFP news agency reports that Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem expects Greece to make a formal request for a new bailout program "possibly within the next few hours."

14:39 Reuters news agency reports that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande ahead of the emergency summit of eurozone leaders.

14:21 DPA news agency reports that Greece is expected to submit a new request for aid from the eurozone's rescue fund on Wednesday, quoting anonymous EU diplomats.

14:02 Associated Press news agency reports that the new Greek finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos came to today's eurozone meeting without any new written proposals.

13:52 Reuters news agency reports that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will address the European Parliament on Wednesday.

13:27 Western Union reports the company will restarting money transfer services in Greece, enabling customers to receive funds from overseas. The Greek government's daily withdrawal limit of 60 euros per day will apply to Western Union transactions as well.

12:20 The European Central Bank (ECB) says it cannot provide bailout funding to banks on "overly generous terms" or without sufficient collateral.

On Monday, the ECB announced that it would keep emergency funds to Greece at their current level, deciding not to increase the level of credit available to the country's cash-strapped banks.

11:32 Slovakian Finance Minister Peter Kazimir, his Maltese counterpart Edward Scicluna and EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis see a Greek exit from the eurozone as a "realistic possibility," as Scicluna puts it.

However, Dombrovskis clarifies, "certainly it's not our aim."

11:02 Shortly before a meeting of eurozone finance ministers, Eurogroup President and Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem warns that upcoming discussions with Greece will be "very difficult."

10:54 Moscow casts aside theories that it has offered Athens financial assistance.

"Greece has not asked for any help, we haven't discussed such as issue," Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev tells reporters a day after President Vladimir Putin discussed the Greek crisis with International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde.

10:07 Germany's Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel calls the decision to allow Greece into the eurozone "very naive" in an interview with "Stern" magazine.

Even worse, however, says Gabriel, was the way everyone else simply watched as the country slipped ever deeper into financial crisis.

Gabriel strikes a slightly conciliatory tone with the current administration in Athens, on the other hand, by saying that eurozone could discuss "the possibility of debt reduction, but only after the Greek government shows that they have implemented reforms."

9:32 The Irish Times reports that Prime Minister Enda Kenny has called for "credible and economically sensible" proposals from Tsipras for the emergency eurozone leadership meeting this afternoon in Brussels.

The Irish daily also says that according to the country's defense minister, Simon Coveney, in the unlikely event that Greece is able to have some of its debt written off, Ireland will not ask for a similar deal.

"I don’t think Greece is likely to get debt relief . . . we wanted debt relief but it wasn’t possible and it wasn’t on the table and it is still not on the table," the Irish Times quotes Coveney as saying.

8:57 Martin Schulz, the German president of the European Parliament, echoes Juncker's wish for Greece to remain in the eurozone. He denies the suggestion that he called on the Greek government to resign.

8:01 The Greek Capital Markets Commission announces that the Athens stock exchange will remain closed until Wednesday, according to Reuters news agency.

7:59 Italy's foreign minister Paolo Gentiloni defends Germany, oft portrayed as the villain in this crisis, saying Greeks should blame their former leaders instead of the "mean Germans."

Speaking to Italian daily "Corriere della Sera," Gentiloni says the current situation is "not the fault of mean Germans, but is the responsibility of the Greek governments which have followed one another these past 15-20 years."

7:17 Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, says despite the overwhelming "No" victory in Greece's referendum on Sunday, he is very much against a Greek exit from the eurozone.

"My wish is that a 'Grexit' should be avoided," Juncker tells the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. "There are those in the EU who openly or otherwise campaign for Greece to exit from the eurozone. My life tells me the simplistic answers are the wrong solutions."

5:57 France's Prime Minister Manuel Valls tells French radio that their nation can't take the risk of Greece leaving the eurozone" and that "the basis for a deal exists."

3:31 With Greek banks swiftly running out of cash, Eurozone leaders agree to hold an emergency summit on Tuesday. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is expected to unveil the latest set of reform proposals from Athens. Euclid Tsakalotos, the successor to the divisive and outspoken former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, begins his first full day in Athens' top financial job.

es, ss/jil, kms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)