Analytics, Economics, EU – Baltic States, Financial Services, Latvia

He believes that the situation in Greece has deteriorated to such a level that the country will soon be forced to print its own currency for internal payments, thus basically meaning leaving the eurozone. Vaikulis said that such a possibility is over 50% at the moment. The expert also points out that the situation in Greece can be seen as historical, and it is no surprise it has attracted the world's attention.

''We in Latvia are lucky, we can watch this ''firestorm'' from the sidelines. It would be reckless and brash to say that Greece's problems will not leave an impact on Europe and Latvia. There will be an impact, and it will be negative. But this negative impact for Latvian will be minimal,'' he explains.

He points out that direct consequences from the Greek problems will be miniscule, as Latvia's exports to Greece make up only about 0.2% of Latvia's total exports. He also said that secondary influence on trade will also be small, as Greece's main trading partners, like, for example, Bulgaria, Cyprus and Romania, are also insignificant trade partners for Latvia.

He concludes that, objectively, there is no reason for Latvia to panic and overly worry about the situation in Greece.

The AFP news agency reports that Greece's government and international creditors raised the stakes Thursday over a weekend referendum seen as decisive for the nearly insolvent EU country's political and financial future.

The International Monetary Fund highlighted the deteriorating situation in Greece by slashing the country's growth forecast this year from 2.5% to zero.

It also estimated Greece needs at least 50 billion more euros ($55 billion) to stabilize its finances even under existing creditor plans.