Withdrawal from the European Union

Several of the biggest fund managers based in London are drawing up plans to move trillions of pounds of assets and thousands of jobs outside of Britain should the country vote to leave the EU in a referendum due by the end of 2017, the Sunday Times said. 

By Eleni Varvitsiotis

Brussels - The Greek government has been given 24 hours to come up with its own counter-proposals to the ones already made by the institutions with the aim of reaching an agreement to unlock 7.2 billion euros in bailout funds.

Prime Minister David Cameron was warned June 8 that some of his ministers would likely resign after he demanded his cabinet back any deal he struck on EU reform and vote to stay in the bloc in a forthcoming referendum.

EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Thursday he was sure Greece and its creditors would reach an agreement on a cash-for-reforms deal and that Greece would remain in the eurozone.

"My deep conviction is that we will find a deal on Greece," Moscovici told an economic seminar in Brussels organized by the European Political Strategy Centre.

Greece and its lenders enter a decisive weekend of negotiations in a bid to agree on a package of cuts and reforms that would unlock another 7.2 billion euros and allow Athens to keep meeting its debt repayments.

By Ian Wishart & Hans Nichols

Talks on a possible third bailout for Greece can begin once its government bridges ?substantial? differences with creditors over its current loan arrangement, European Union economics commissioner Pierre Moscovici said.

There is a one-in-three chance of Greece leaving the eurozone this year because it may be unable to secure fresh loans and could default on debt payments, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday.

Greece's prime minister said Wednesday that his country is close to reaching a deal with its bailout creditors, prompting European stock markets to jump on hopes of a breakthrough in the slow-moving, often acrimonious talks.

A new round of negotiations between Greece and its international creditors (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) begins on Tuesday in Brussels.

Britain's Labour Party will be supporting the proposed referendum on the country's EU membership. The statement was made by party leader Harriet Herman and foreign affairs spokesperson Hilary Benn.