Greece threatens to sue European Union

Protesters burn a European Union (EU) flag. Photo / Konstantinos Tsakalidis

Defiant stance comes after warning from Europe's leaders that a no vote will mean expulsion from euro

Greece is threatening to sue the European Union institutions and seek a court injunction to block its expulsion from the euro and stop a suffocation of the banking system.

"The Greek Government will make use of all our legal rights," said Yanis Varoufakis, the Finance Minister.

"We are taking advice and will certainly consider an injunction at the European Court of Justice. The EU treaties make no provision for euro exit and we refuse to accept it. Our membership is not negotiable."

The defiant stand came as Europe's major powers warned in the bluntest terms that Greece will be forced out of the monetary union if voters reject austerity and reform demands in a referendum on Monday (Sunday night NZT). "What is at stake is whether or not Greeks want to stay in the eurozone or want to take the risk of leaving," said French President Francois Hollande.

Sigmar Gabriel, Germany's Vice-Chancellor, said the Greek people should have no illusions about the choice before them. "It must be crystal-clear what is at stake," he said. "At the core, it is a yes or no to remaining in the eurozone."

Chancellor Angela Merkel was more oblique, but the message was much the same. She insisted that the eurozone cannot yield to any one country. "If principles are not upheld, the euro will fail," Merkel said.

The refusal to hold out an olive branch to Greece more or less guaranteed it would not repay a €1.6 billion ($2.6 billion) loan to the International Monetary Fund today, potentially setting off a domino effect of cross-default clauses and the biggest sovereign bankruptcy in history. Any request for an injunction against EU bodies at the European Court would complicate the crisis.

Greek officials said they were seriously considering suing the European Central Bank for freezing emergency liquidity for the Greek banks at €89 billion. It turned down a request from Athens for a €6 billion increase to keep pace with deposit flight.

Greeks queued in their thousands at cash machines, petrol stations and supermarkets for a third day.

The Greek Government will also be hit today with a €1.9 billion bill for public salaries and pensions.

Greece yesterday published the ballot paper for the vote, with "No", or "Oxi", at the top. The word carries powerful resonance in Greece from the day in October 1940 when it refused Mussolini's ultimatum.

The state of the crisis could be gauged by the numbers of pensioners queuing outside the nation's banks.

"I came here at 4am because I have to get my pension," said 74-year-old Anastasios Gevelidis, one of about 100 retirees waiting outside the main branch of National Bank of Greece in Thessaloniki.

Queues at ATMs have been a familiar sight since last week, with customers now limited to withdrawing €60 a day - but pensioners who do not have debit cards are denied even that small sum. "I don't have a card, I don't know what's going on; we don't even have enough money to buy bread," Gevelidis said.

- Telegraph Group Ltd, AP