Watch Video: The BBC's Ros Atkins looks at what may happen next in Greece
Eurozone finance ministers have
rejected a Greek government call to extend its bailout, just hours
before.........
it expires and a €1.6bn (£1.1bn) payment to the IMF falls due.
The move came after ministers held an emergency conference call.
Greek PM Alexis Tsipras had requested a short extension to Greece's current bailout, and a two-year rescue deal.
If it fails to repay the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Greece could risk leaving the euro.
Greece has also asked the IMF for more time, according to Deputy Prime Minister Yannis Dragasakis.
Eurogroup
chairman and Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said it would
be "crazy" to extend the Greek bailout beyond its midnight expiration as
Athens was refusing accept the European proposals on the table.
Speaking
after the conference call, he added that a Greek request for a new
€29.1bn European aid programme would be considered later.
The
European Commission - one of Greece's "troika" of creditors along with
the IMF and the eurozone's European Central Bank - wants Athens to raise
taxes and cut welfare spending to meet its debt obligations.
Amid
fears of a Greek default on its huge public debt of €323bn, people have
queued at cash machines. Withdrawals are capped at just €60 a day.
Greek
banks did not open this week after talks between Greece and its
creditors broke down. However, up to 1,000 bank branches will re-open
from Wednesday to allow pensioners - many of whom do not use bank cards -
to withdraw up to €120.
Analysis: By Andrew Walker, economics correspondent
The sky will not fall in when the deadline for Greece to repay to the IMF passes, but the tension will rise.
If
a payment to the IMF is missed and managing director Christine Lagarde
informs her board, the eurozone would have the right under the loan
agreements to demand immediate repayment of more than €180bn they have
already lent Greece, together with interest.
Failure to repay the
IMF comes under a list of "events of default" set out in the legal
documents. IMF officials say Ms Lagarde intends to inform the board
promptly if Greece doesn't pay on time.
Of course, in practice,
the rest of the eurozone won't demand the money back and send in the
bailiffs. Athens couldn't possibly repay and in any event they want to
keep talking, hoping they can keep Greece in the eurozone. But the fact
that they would have the option is a sign of how close Greece is getting
to the brink.
The main slogan of Tuesday's protest was: "We're staying in Europe"
On Tuesday evening, thousands
of pro-EU protesters braved stormy weather and gathered outside the
Greek parliament in Athens to urge a "yes" vote in a referendum on
Sunday over whether the country should accept its creditors' proposals.
It follows a similar demonstration by those advocating a "no" vote - the path preferred by Mr Tsipras - on Monday.
EU
leaders have warned that a no vote rejecting creditors' proposals would
mean Greece leaving the eurozone - though Mr Tsipras says he does not
want this to happen.
The ECB is believed to have disbursed virtually all of its emergency funds for Greece, amounting to €89bn (£63bn).
01:00 Greek time Wednesday (22:00 GMT): Greece's €1.6bn repayment to the IMF is due.
5 July - the referendum on creditors' proposals, and many say Greece's membership of the eurozone, takes place
20 July
- Greece must redeem €3.46bn of bonds held by the European Central
Bank. If it fails to do so, the ECB can cut off Greece's access to
emergency loans.
