goinggreek.info
The Agora => Greek News => Topic started by: Maik on Monday, 13 July, 2015 @ 15:11:26
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Greece debt crisis: Eurozone summit strikes deal
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33503955
Greeks capitulate to austerity and external monitoring after 17 hours of late night talks end in 'a-Greek-ment'
Prime minister Tsipras forced to concede to toughest measures ever imposed on eurozone economy in return for opening talks on a new rescue package worth €86bn
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11735609/Greece-news-live-Greeks-capitulate-to-austerity-and-external-monitoring-after-17-hours-of-late-night-talks.html
Greece and eurozone reach agreement in bailout talks
Donald Tusk says new programme is ‘all ready to go’ but backlash intensifies with critics calling creditors’ terms harsher than Versailles treaty
But the hard-fought political deal is only the start of yet another round of talks to hammer out the technical details of a bailout plan that could be worth up to €86bn (£61bn) for Greece.
In order to get these desperately needed funds, the radical left government of Alexis Tispras had to submit to draconian economic reforms that the Greek people had rejected in a referendum barely a week before.
Greece has promised to pass laws introducing controversial economic reforms by Wednesday. These include reforming the VAT system, overhauling pensions and signing up to plans that ensure immediate spending cuts in the event of breaching creditor-mandated budget targets.
Athens has also agreed to sell off state assets worth €50bn, with the proceeds earmarked for a trust fund supervised by its creditors. Half the fund will be used to recapitalise Greek banks, while the remaining €25bn will pay down Greek debts.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/13/athens-and-eurozone-agree-bailout-deal-for-greece
Relief - and much anger - in Greece as Tsipras clinches deal
Greeks greeted news of a deal with creditors on Monday with a measure of relief mixed with much anger, particularly at Germany, after it became clear Greece will have to swallow more austerity that could fracture the government and spark a backlash.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/199420/article/ekathimerini/news/relief---and-much-anger---in-greece-as-tsipras-clinches-deal
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Herr Merkel is in a win win.
He either gets the crazy austerity deal or he brings down the government.
No brainer.
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Merkel and her cronies control to purse strings so, In Teddy Roosevelt's phrase, "If you've got them by the balls. their hearts and minds will follow"
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I agree with your comment Ari, but I'd always thought it was one of the 60s UK Union leaders that had said it, either Jack Jones, Frank Cousins or Scanlon. You're right about the source though, that other shower just nicked it.
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(http://goinggreek.info/gallery/1_14_07_15_2_08_56.jpeg)
Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, has until Wednesday to convince his party that he did not betray them by signing up to sweeping austerity measures that will see €50 billion-worth of public assets sold off.
Greece faces financial ruin if the agreement made in Brussels early on Monday morning cannot be ratified by both the Greek government and the national parliaments of the Eurozone.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/greece-debt-crisis-live-tsipras-faces-showdown-in-athens-as-his-own-party-shun-austerity-reforms-ahead-of-critical-vote-10386815.html
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Greece put its faith in democracy but Europe has vetoed the result
The EU has humiliated Syriza and ignored its referendum: now the only power the country has left is to implement what the lenders want
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/13/greece-bailout-eurozone-democracy-is-loser
With Europe behind it, Greece is being pushed into further peril
There is not the remotest prospect Athens can raise the money set out in the bailout terms, even with the enforced sale of national assets
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/13/europe-greece-pushed-into-further-peril
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced early on Tuesday that Greece had gone further into arrears by missing a debt repayment for the second consecutive month.
It had been due to pay €456m (£323m; $500m) on Monday and now owed €2bn, the Washington-based fund said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33517252
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Greece is being treated like a hostile occupied state
A new deal for Athens is the worst of all worlds and solves nothing
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11736779/Greece-is-being-treated-like-a-hostile-occupied-state.html
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Simplisticly, it sucks....
Lending money is a RISK. Sometimes the borrowers just can't make the repayments. They default.
As a lender, you mitigate your risk by careful selection of borrowers, and due diligence.
Your actuaries will have calculated any losses will be covered by the interest charged across all your loans, and you will probably have insured (spread-bet) against defaulters too.
Just why was Germany so willing to lend Greece so much money, when other European countries were not?
And to continue lending when it became clear there were problems approaching.
Worse, why are those same prudent European countries not pointing the finger at Germany, rather than apparently backing it. Particularly those smaller EU States who could so easily find themselves in a similar position to Greece.
It wasn't Tsipras or HIS government who took money from the Germans, or mis-spent the money - it was the previous government. It would be nice to see some media commentary that acknowledges that fact. At the moment the whole issue is akin to moving into a house and being expected to pick up the previous resident's bills and costs. (as I said, "simplisticly")
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Europe To Greece: Your Government Belongs To Us
http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2015/07/14/europe-to-greece-all-your-government-are-belong-to-us/
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15 July 2015 must be declared a new "OXI" day. Tell the Krauts to shove their "agreement" up Merkel's big fat arse and start printing the drachmas. Otherwise, let Greece become a third world slave state so that Adidas can get their trainers made by 9 year olds. Those that haven't been bought by Kraut paedophiles, of course (have you seen what goes on in Thailand!).
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IMF stuns Europe with call for massive Greek debt relief
'There would have to be a very dramatic extension with grace periods of 30 years on the entire stock of European debt,' the fund says
The International Monetary Fund has set off a political earthquake in Europe, warning that Greece may need a full moratorium on debt payments for 30 years and perhaps even long-term subsidies to claw its way out of depression.
The findings are explosive. The document amounts to a warning that the IMF will not take part in any EMU-led rescue package for Greece unless Germany and the EMU creditor powers finally agree to sweeping debt relief.
This vastly complicates the rescue deal agreed by eurozone leaders in marathon talks over the weekend since Germany insists that the bail-out cannot go ahead unless the IMF is involved.
The creditors were aware of the IMF’s report as early as Sunday, yet chose to sweep it under rug. Extracts were leaked to Reuters on Tuesday, forcing the matter into the open.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11739985/IMF-stuns-Europe-with-call-for-massive-Greek-debt-relief.html
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IMF stuns Europe with call for massive Greek debt relief
'There would have to be a very dramatic extension with grace periods of 30 years on the entire stock of European debt,' the fund says
The International Monetary Fund has set off a political earthquake in Europe, warning that Greece may need a full moratorium on debt payments for 30 years and perhaps even long-term subsidies to claw its way out of depression.
The findings are explosive. The document amounts to a warning that the IMF will not take part in any EMU-led rescue package for Greece unless Germany and the EMU creditor powers finally agree to sweeping debt relief.
This vastly complicates the rescue deal agreed by eurozone leaders in marathon talks over the weekend since Germany insists that the bail-out cannot go ahead unless the IMF is involved.
The creditors were aware of the IMF’s report as early as Sunday, yet chose to sweep it under rug. Extracts were leaked to Reuters on Tuesday, forcing the matter into the open.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11739985/IMF-stuns-Europe-with-call-for-massive-Greek-debt-relief.html
At long last there appears to be someone with a brain at the IMF! Now we need the same in the EU and we will be getting somewhere!
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The General Secretary of the Greek Ministry of Economy has resigned
https://twitter.com/Peston/status/621289187493453824
Greece's deputy finance minister Nadia Valavani has resigned ahead of a vote in parliament on whether to agree a bailout from eurozone creditors. "I'm not going to vote for this amendment and this means I cannot stay in the government," Ms Valavani told reporters. She submitted her resignation in a letter to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
http://www.bbc.com/news/live/business-33480291
Greece: 107 out of 201 members of Syriza’s central committee call for No and a party conference. Won’t derail today’s vote but significant
https://twitter.com/paulmasonnews
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The General Secretary for Social Security at the Ministry of Labor has announced he will resign, as he disagrees with the retirement and other pension reforms agreed with Greece's creditors.
http://en.enikos.gr/politics/32471,Social-security-official-disagrees-with-reforms-announces-resignation.html
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Seems that not everyone is well-pleased with the "Agreement"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3160873/Greek-Prime-Minister-Tsipras-faces-battle-quell-revolt-ministers-agreeing-austerity-measures-GERMANS-ashamed-forcing-them.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3160873/Greek-Prime-Minister-Tsipras-faces-battle-quell-revolt-ministers-agreeing-austerity-measures-GERMANS-ashamed-forcing-them.html)
SandyBay
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Even in Germany...
Backlash brews in Germany over Berlin's role in Greece debt talks
German media express worries about how Berlin’s role in the bailout talks will affect the country’s image
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/7/15/backlash-brews-in-germany-over-berlins-role-in-greece-debt-talks.html
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Greek MPs have approved tough economic measures required to enable an €86bn eurozone bailout deal to go ahead
Two hundred and twenty nine lawmakers voted Yes, 64 voted No and six abstained. Half of the No votes came from the governing Syriza party.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33535205
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Germany Finds Itself Cast as the Villain in Greek Drama
Berlin's role as the enforcer in negotiations over Greece's debt could cause lasting damage to Germany's global image
A few days ago, a group of German comedians produced a satire of their country’s attitude toward Greece under the title “Our Precious German Euros.” Filmed in a pair of swanky hotel rooms, the clip lampoons two pampered yuppies, Klaus and Jan, as they vent their annoyance at all the money their country has spent bailing out the “bankrupt” and “greedy” Greeks. “These swindling Greeks are destroying our euro,” says Klaus. “Nobody’s ever given us Germans something for nothing,” says Jan.
In case it wasn’t clear, the moral of the sketch then appears with a chirpy melody: Germans have the “historic opportunity,” it says, “not to behave like a–holes for once” and to show Greece a bit of sympathy.
http://time.com/3959164/germany-greece-bailout-deal-athens-merkel/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktqKNu4N9Ds
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:rant:
Greek MPs have approved tough economic measures required to enable an €86bn eurozone bailout deal to go ahead
Two hundred and twenty nine lawmakers voted Yes, 64 voted No and six abstained. Half of the No votes came from the governing Syriza party.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33535205
"Those whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make mad."
Wrongly attributed to Euripides and quoted by Enoch Powell in his "Rivers of Blood" speech. But no less apposite now.
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Germany Finds Itself Cast as the Villain in Greek Drama
Berlin's role as the enforcer in negotiations over Greece's debt could cause lasting damage to Germany's global image
A few days ago, a group of German comedians produced a satire of their country’s attitude toward Greece under the title “Our Precious German Euros.” Filmed in a pair of swanky hotel rooms, the clip lampoons two pampered yuppies, Klaus and Jan, as they vent their annoyance at all the money their country has spent bailing out the “bankrupt” and “greedy” Greeks. “These swindling Greeks are destroying our euro,” says Klaus. “Nobody’s ever given us Germans something for nothing,” says Jan.
In case it wasn’t clear, the moral of the sketch then appears with a chirpy melody: Germans have the “historic opportunity,” it says, “not to behave like a–holes for once” and to show Greece a bit of sympathy.
http://time.com/3959164/germany-greece-bailout-deal-athens-merkel/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktqKNu4N9Ds
I suppose the Krauts have forgotten the London Debt Agreement of 1953. The West Germans had a reduction of debt from 32 billion marks to 15 billion marks and an extension of the repayment period to 30 years. BUT, they only had to pay when they had an export surplus and then the payment was limited to 3% of export earnings. So, they could, effectively, defer payment until the economy was healthy and payments could be afforded. Part of the repayments, 293.3 million deutsche marks, was deferred until reunification so the final payment, 69.9 million euros, wasn't made until October 2010.
Of course, nobody has ever given anything to the Krauts.
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A bit off topic but an interesting article on the BBC website, titled 'German muscle threatens European solidarity'. Here's a few bits I've picked out:
The European dream was conjured out of a nightmare - it was, in origin, a project to exorcise the family ghost: the vast power of one country, Germany.
With Greece treated not far short of a satrapy of permanent recession, the climax to the crisis raises one of the most serious charges against the European Union - that it overrides national democracy.
That the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regards the plan as all but pointless adds to the angst.
In the common imagination, at least on the Continent, if not in the UK, the European project is about "peace".
In the aftermath of the World War Two, the driving impetus was how to avoid Europe ever going to war again.
That is putting it politely -it was how stop Germany ever again doing violence to a continent.
Which is why it is almost incredible that the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has single-handedly resurrected a perception of his country that was deservedly buried long ago - the promoters of a brutal, remorseless, logic riding roughshod over compassion.
Both the solutions on the table last weekend, Greek exit or the current deal, were German creations.
Recently resigned Greece Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, while not a neutral observer by any means, is probably right that German attitudes "completely and utterly" control the Eurogroup.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33535257
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Greece should seize Germany's botched offer of a velvet Grexit
The Versailles terms imposed on Germany in 1919 were vindictive and narrow-minded, but not beyond reach. Greece is being told to do the impossible
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11744305/Greece-should-seize-Germanys-botched-offer-of-a-velvet-Grexit.html
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He is probably not a candidate for the Greek "Man of the Month" competition, but could Wolfgang Schäuble be correct? In the long-term is there any other realistic option? Is this "Agreement" (and previous), not simply covering up with a band-aid a condition that requires surgical intervention?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article-3163427/Greek-parliament-votes-YES-austerity-PM-David-Cameron-vows-Britain-not-bailout.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/news/article-3163427/Greek-parliament-votes-YES-austerity-PM-David-Cameron-vows-Britain-not-bailout.html)
SandyBay
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Merkel and Schäuble are between a rock and a hard place:
Angela Merkel has been kinder to Greece than German voters would be
The German chancellor wants Germans to pay to rescue Greece even though her voters are increasingly weary
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/greece/11740556/Angela-Merkel-has-been-kinder-to-Greece-than-German-voters-would-be.html
It's at least partly their own making and, given the debt is widely viewed as unsustainable, they seem intent on passing the problem on to their successors to sort out. According to the BBC, the German parliament has voted in favour of starting negotiations on Greece's €86bn (£60bn) bailout deal. (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33560366)
PS It's German Chancellor Angela Merkel's 61st birthday :yahoo:
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Not an entirely new idea:
Germany, Not Greece, Should Exit the Euro
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-07-17/germany-not-greece-should-exit-the-euro
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Greece should seize Germany's botched offer of a velvet Grexit
The Versailles terms imposed on Germany in 1919 were vindictive and narrow-minded, but not beyond reach. Greece is being told to do the impossible
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11744305/Greece-should-seize-Germanys-botched-offer-of-a-velvet-Grexit.html
As the reparations demanded after WW1 were never paid back in full they were obviously beyond the reach of a country that never intended to reach out for them. Of course, the Daily Tory would forget that.
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Greece debt crisis: Reforms 'going to fail' - Varoufakis
In a damning assessment, Mr Varoufakis told the BBC's Mark Lobel: "This programme is going to fail whoever undertakes its implementation."
Asked how long that would take, he replied: "It has failed already."
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33578778
Off topic... or maybe not...
Fit for an emperor, EU diplomats plan £2 million dinner service
Crystal whisky glasses, silver candelabras and fine china decorated with gold EU flags to form glittering dinner service for Brussels' ascendant diplomatic corps
The dinner service, which stands to be larger and nearly ten times the cost of one recently purchased for the White House...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/eu/11747506/eu-diplomats-plan-fine-dining-service.html
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Most Greeks want to stay in euro and reach a deal
http://www.ekathimerini.com/199706/article/ekathimerini/news/most-greeks-want-to-stay-in-euro-and-reach-a-deal
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It is idiocy to force Greece to raise taxes - it's terrible for economic growth
Putting up taxes unthinkingly is bad for economic growth and often actually leads to lower tax revenues to government.
If you raise the tax on business activity there is less incentive to expand and to make profit. Why work harder if the government is going to take more money? What is more, if you raise taxes carelessly it may act as an incentive to tax avoidance – legal measures to reduce your tax bill – or even outright tax evasion.
This is a widely held view and one which has considerable merit. But apparently it does not apply to Greece. The eurozone has decided that to renew Greece’s economy and to boost tax revenues, the appropriate policy is to jack up taxes. And not just any taxes, but VAT on leisure activities and on holiday islands, Greece’s prime industry and its biggest source of outside income.
This is quite simply idiocy. This entire issue has been poisoned by too much moralising and too much politics. The objectives appear to be either to punish Greeks for alleged fecklessness, or simply to make its position in the euro intolerable – forcing an exit.
Whatever the failings of Greece in the past, they will not be rectified by these policies. In fact, convincing Greek business to stop dodging VAT and pay its fair share will not be helped by raising VAT rates.
Greece’s politicians and its people need to use this period of calm to prepare for an orderly exit – and to default on their debts.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/comment/article-3166406/SIMON-WATKINS-Greece-s-politicians-people-need-use-period-calm-prepare-orderly-euro-exit-default-debts.html
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Quite an interesting read:
Greece debt crisis: Beware plausible stories - there are times when only statistics will do
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/comment/greece-debt-crisis-live-beware-plausible-stories--there-are-times-when-only-statistics-will-do-10400686.html
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How many of the billions of Euros associated with this "Agreement" (this is an Agreement...??) will be applied to those areas of the Greek economy that need it most - unemployment, healthcare, the elderly, the disabled, the young..? And how many of these billions will simply be used to repay the lenders of the previous "Agreements"...?
SandyBay
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Just a thought. There's talk of prices going up because of the VAT increase. I don't remember prices going down when VAT was reduced in 2013.
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Same happened in England! Poundland never did reduce their prices!
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Angela Merkel’s coalition split over Wolfgang Schaeuble’s Greece opposition
Influential finance minister has threatened to resign if further Greece concessions made
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/11752444/Angela-Merkels-coalition-split-over-Wolfgang-Schaeubles-Greece-opposition.html
'Tis a very fragile 'agreement'.
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Greek euro exit back on the agenda next year, economists say
There’s still a danger that Greece will be forced out of the euro region by the end of 2016, according to 71 percent of respondents in a Bloomberg survey of 34 economists.
http://www.ekathimerini.com/199764/article/ekathimerini/business/greek-euro-exit-back-on-the-agenda-next-year-economists-say
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Dr. Stranglove's resignation would not be total disaster - for Germany, or several other countries.
Frau Tante Merkle seems to be keeping him close in order to limit the damage he is causing ( " better in the tent pi**ing out, than outside pi**ing in on us " )
:yiamas: