Tsipras requests at least 50 billion euro ESM aid

(Vatican Radio) Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras returned to Athens last night after an exhausting three days of meetings with European leaders, saying he has asked for at least 50 billion euros from the European Stability Mechanism over the next three years.

The eurozone finance ministers were reported examining the request, which was about the only bright spot for Greece this week.  The ESM is a European bailout mechanism that bypasses the International Monetary Fund.

Listen to this report from John Carr in Athens

Tsipras addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg yesterday, appealing for European solidarity as well as a respect for Greek national sovereignty.  He said the result of last Sunday’s referendum, when 61 percent of Greece’s voters rejected the creditors’ tough bailout terms, should make the hardliners in Europe think again.  Yet the effort has been hard on him, as sources in the Syriza party said Tsipras is showing visible signs of strain.

 Now there’s a new deadline looming, and that’s the coming Sunday, when a new eurozone summit is expected to deliver the final judgement on whether to be lenient to Greece.  The European Central Bank has meanwhile agreed to keep Greek banks afloat for this week.

The banks are still closed, and are expected to stay so for the rest of the week and beyond, unless and until Tsipras finally firms a new deal with the creditors or gets some rescue funds from the ESM.