Up to Greece to make proposals

French Finance Minister Michel Sapin said Monday it was up to the Greek government to make new proposals after a referendum rejected bailout proposals made by international creditors.

"The vote itself solves nothing," Sapin said in the first reaction from Europe's second economy.

Sapin also warned the European Central Bank against lowering its level of emergency financing to Greek banks, as the liquidity is essential to keep Greece's economy afloat.

The amount of funding provided by the ECB through its Emergency Liquidity Assistance "cannot be lowered," said Sapin.

He said communication channels with Greece were "very limited" and mainly passed through France, European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker and his Eurogroup counterpart Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

He said no solution could be found until German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds talks with French President Francois Hollande at a dinner meeting in Paris Monday night.

"Europe is facing a difficult moment but it is not in difficulty itself," said Sapin.

"Europe will show it is strong by protecting itself."
Source: AFP