The Troika is dead! Long live the Brussels Group! Or The BG according to the code books of the technical teams dealing with the Greek debt issue in Brussels. Citing Greek government sources, local media report that officials from Greece and the European Commission, the ECB, the IMF, the ESM / EFSM will start meeting in Brussels and that
«the Brussels Group may appoint technical advisers to visit Athens and to meet only with officials of the same rank.”
Although the Troika-Trio mutated into a Quartet with the participation of ESM/EFSM, in terms of semantics the Brussels Group is in fact a Quintet as its members are not only lenders’ representative as in the Troika times, but also representatives from Greece.
And furthermore, visits of lenders to Athens will be limited to low-ranking “advisers” who will only come, collect information or missing data and go back to Brussels.
the new Greek government has repeatedly said that “the times when the Troika representatives used to enter Ministries and demand information from Ministers are over.”
The technical advisers to visit Greece will be appointed only if specific issues in connection with information Athens is asked to submit during the negotiations and with the aim to dispel doubts or data absence.
“the technical advisers will then visit Athens in order to be «on Site Exchange of Facts» on the specific issue.”
The technical teams will evaluate the fiscal cost for the Greek reforms and the commitments of all Greek measures the Greek side proposes for the next 100 days, that is until the Bridge Program ends.
The first stage of the works of the technical teams started today, Wednesday in Brussels and is expected to last until next Wednesday, March 18th 2015.
During this time low-rank technical advisers may visit Athens, cooperate with Finance Ministry personnel of the same rank and provide the needed data to the technical teams in Brussels.
The Greek team in Brussels is led by the General Secretary of the Finance Ministry Prof Nikos Theocharakis. On the lenders side are among others: Declan Costello (EC) and Klaus Masuch (ECB) former members of the former Troika.
PS I miss the info as to who will represent the IMF. Poul Thomsen???
It this is indeed true, it is a step forward for Greece and all the peoples of Europe fighting austerity.
mmmmmmmmmm!!
That explains why the bailout under the “T-word” group failed! They had a tenor, bass and alto, but no soprano. Now the harmony will be just perfect and all will be just fine. Hopefully, they will be as successful as the previous BeeGees, but then, the originals were a trio, not a quartet.
🙂
A VERY interesting talk show on radio last night. Basically it explained that bankers are re-engineering the world. They are transferring assets to large multinational corporations and debt to governments (thus destroying the country and its people). The end result is not a world made up of countries, but a world dominated and controlled by bankers and corporations. Sounds unbelievable, but when I look at Greece I can kinda of see it happening.
I think I read something similar somerwhere but I don’t remember where.
A) Varoufakis is an economist, which means he is one of them, to be, is to obey, he see’s it through there eyes.
* That the banks are re-engineering the world, sounds great
* That they are transfering assets to large multinational corporations
… by assets they mean
* the utilities of conquered nations = gas, water, electricity, toll roads, supermarket chains – which is food delivery to the masses … thing like that
* what assets exactly are we talking about –
* the assets acquired as a result of / via, the privatisation fad that swept the Western world.
* didn’t the global & national banking sectors gamble it all away in 2008 ?
I THINK SO –
THE REAL QUESTION IS WHO EXACTLY OWNS THE ‘ASSETS’ TODAY ?
BECAUSE IT IS CERTAINLY NOT THE BANKING SECTORS.
THE BANKERS OF THE WORLD ARE BROKE OR THEY WOULD NOT BE PUSHING FOR BAIL-IN’S
eg., CYPRUS BANKING & MARK CARNEY’S push for global BAIL-IN to be implemented.
(Mark Carney Govenor of the Bank of England / or Robin Hood, who takes from the rich & give to the poor)
The banks do not own the corporate world – what is more the corporate world have abandoned Western banking arenas for more reliable collaborations.
The Western financial arena is bluffing & the poker table so as to not be thrown out by the scruff of the neck.