Advertisement

Dutch PM says Greece must accept deep reforms

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Netherlands' prime minister, Mark Rutte, said on Monday that Greece will have to accept deep reforms if it wants to remain in the euro zone.

In a debate in parliament in the wake of Greece's "No" vote on the terms of a bailout package from its creditors, Rutte said his government was unwilling to give any new funding to Greece unless it committed to reform.

"If things stay the way they are, then we're at an impasse," he said. "There is no other choice, they must be ready to accept deep reforms."

He said that creditors had no plans to draft a new proposal after Sunday's 'No" vote and it was up to the Greek government to come up with a new proposal ahead of a meeting of European leaders on Tuesday.

"They must make a decision, this evening or tonight, what they are going to do. Whether they are going to come with a serious plan ... or not," Rutte said.

He said that if the Greeks went to Brussels on Tuesday demanding changes because they felt supported by the "No" vote and refused reforms "then I think it is over".

(Reporting by Toby Sterling and Anthony Deutsch; Editing by Alison Williams)