Brussels

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras called a shock referendum for July 5 on the tough economic policies that the country’s creditors want in exchange for more rescue funding. He addressed the nation at 1 a.m., telling television audiences that Greek voters should choose as to whether the list of policies the creditors presented in Brussels this week should be accepted.

Dramatic developments in the political scenery in Greece. The government, after a cabinet which began as a government meeting, decided to call Parliament on Saturday and announce a referendum seven days thence. The government council began shortly after 9pm local, after Alexis Tsipras returned from Brussels. All ministers and deputy ministers decided to move forward with the referendum.

By Ian Wishart & Corina Ruhe

Brussels - No one was more surprised about Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras calling a referendum than his team of negotiators in Brussels.

Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is to face his eurozone peers again on Saturday for a critical summit where Greece is being pressed to decide whether to accept the latest proposal by the country?s creditors or face default and a potential exit from the eurozone.

 VAT, sell-offs, corporate taxation, various exemptions and defense spending are principal sticking points

By Prokopis Hatzinikolaou & Sotiris Nikas

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras dismissed on Friday the latest proposal of the international creditors to extend the country's bailout, criticising their approach as unacceptable.

Tsipras stressed that the founding principles of the EU were democracy, solidarity, equality and mutual respect rather than ultimatums and blackmail, the Greek Reporter informs.

The Greek government issued one of its now infamous “non papers” to detail the reasons why it rejected a new proposal by creditors on Friday for a five-month extension of the current (and soon to end) bailout agreement.

PM Aleksandar Vucic will meet in Brussels on Monday with Kosovo PM Isa Mustafa for a new round of dialogue on normalization of Belgrade-Pristina relations.

Tanjug said on Friday it learned this from a source in Brussels.

Developments over the negotiations with lenders are moving at a torrential pace. According to valid sources, PM Alexis Tsipras has made the decision to call the government Cabinet tonight in order to evaluate the lenders’ proposal and set the strategy to be followed in tomorrow’s Eurogroup.

The European Union?s founding principles were based on ?democracy, equality, solidarity and mutual respect? and no one had the right to put them in danger said Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras following a EU summit in Brussels on Friday.