Spain watches as D-Day approaches for Greece

THE clock is ticking on Greece’s chances of staying in the Euro zone and averting bankruptcy.
On Thursday (July 9) Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his cabinet put together a plan in an effort to get a further €53.5 billion in bailout cash to cover loan repayments until the end of 2018.
As part of the proposed deal Greece would raise VAT and luxury taxes, cut defence spending by €300 million and start to tackle what is seen by many outsiders as the problem of generously funded early retirement.
A Greek exit from the Euro could potentially threaten Spain’s economic recovery, warn some economists, although others state that the situations in the two countries are completely different. In fact a Greek exit could help Spain as the on-going uncertainty over the Euro would be removed leading to more stable financial and money markets.
Spain is the EU’s fourth biggest economy and although it has unemployment levels similar to Greece’s, its economy is in a much healthier position with more manageable debt levels.
The Greek Parliament is due to discuss the package on Friday July 10 with Euro zone leaders expected to announce a decision on whether to accept the proposals and release funds following a summit meeting on Sunday July12.