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WWW.MALTATODAY.COM.MT WEDNESDAY EDITION WEDNESDAY • 1 July 2015 • issue 422 • published every wednesday and sunday €1.00 EDITORIAL PAGE 10 Newspaper post Greece denied last minute deal JURGEN BALZAN IN a last ditch effort, the Greek government asked for a third bailout and pledged to call off the referendum or campaign for a yes vote if the EU meets its de- mands. Speaking in Parliament yesterday evening, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat confirmed that Greece asked for a two-year bailout from the eurozone's permanent bail- out fund, the European Stability Mechanism, to cover its debt re- payments until the end of 2017. Reportedly, Greece asked for a new two-year €29.1 billion aid deal from a bailout mechanism for eu- rozone countries. Speaking after the Eurogroup teleconference came to an end, Muscat said that Greek demands for an extension of the current programme, a new bailout or a debt haircut had been denied. "Greece said that if an agreement was reached it would be prepared to change its position in the refer- endum from a no to a yes, change the referendum question or even consider annulling the referen- dum," he said. However, Muscat added, the eu- rozone finance ministers turned down the request given that Greece "failed to make any clear proposal on prior actions." Yet, Muscat did not rule out the possibility of a new deal com- pletely, explaining that eurozone finance ministers made a counter proposal and asked Greece for a new proposal outlining what ac- tions it was ready to take before any deal was discussed. Prime Minister Joseph Muscat says Greeks ready to call off referendum but Eurogroup snubs Greek demand for bailout extension or new deal CONTINUES ON PAGE 4 MIRIAM DALLI FORMER infrastructure min- ister Austin Gatt "preferred not knowing" who his donors were, so as not to be accused of favour- itism. Appearing before the public ac- counts committee analyzing the Auditor General's report into Enemalta's fuel procurement, the former PN minister insisted that he had not been aware that pardoned oil trader George Far- rugia had donated €2,000 to his campaign. "I only learned this after Far- rugia testified in court," he said, adding that it was his helpers who handled his donations. Gatt refused to name the help- ers, arguing that he "shoulders responsibility for his campaign". He confirmed that two members of his former secretariat, one of whom was Claudio Grech, used to help him in his campaign. "Claudio Grech used to take care of the activities and the other used to handle the door-to-door. I don't think that Grech ever re- ceived any donations," he said. CONTINUES ON PAGE 3 Austin Gatt claims 'not knowing' who his campaign donors were Austin Gatt PHOTOGRAPHY BY RAY ATTARD