Last Tuesday, Greece was supposed to pay back more than a billion dollars in loans. But Greece had no money, so the deal struck with European creditors was not honoured.

Last weekend, creditors asked for a few things before signing another agreement to lend the country more money (more taxes, pension cuts, and so on). However, these terms did not go down well with Greek Prime Minister Alexi Tsipras who said that Greece won’t give in to blackmail!

Now that the bailout has expired, what happens next? Banks and the stock market were closed last week in an effort to keep people from taking out all their savings. Today, the Greek prime minister is asking the country to vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on whether to accept the creditors’ new terms. He made it abundantly clear that if the people vote in favour of the creditors’ new demands, he would resign.

Stock markets around the world dropped dramatically when Mr Tsipras announced his sudden decision to hold a referendum. And if the Greeks vote ‘No’ today, the country will most likely have to leave the eurozone. And this would certainly mean financial panic in Greece and even more damage to global markets!

Jos Edmond Zarb

Birkirkara