Merkel-Sarkozy Pressure on Samaras Just to Secure Leopard and Rafale Deal?

What’s hidden behind EU immense pressures on Nea Dimokratia leader Antonis Samaras to sign a letter of guarantee and send it to Greece’s lenders? Why are German Chancellor Merkel and French President Sarkozy so keen to get Samaras’ signature? For a second time since October, a report claims that military purchases from Germany and France, worth €10.5 billion, are the key behind the signatures-issue. Trading  German Leopard tanks and French Rafale combat aircrafts against the second bailout package to Greece.

Here’s the story by weekly NewEurope:

Merkel and Sarkozy want Samaras to sign to secure Leopard and Rafale sales, agreed with Papandreou

When, in late October, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed with the-then Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou to grant Greece the €110 billion mega-loan, the latter agreed, in return for the loan, to purchase military supplies from Germany and France, worth €10.5bn.

The purchases made were to be in equal parts between Germany and France. The hardware to be purchased, according to Athens sources close to Antonis Samaras’s New Democracy party included frigate war ships, Leopard tanks from Germany and Rafale combat aircrafts from France.

…..

Indeed, nobody expects that the new government that will result from the forthcoming February election, most probably led by Antonis Samaras, will even consider military-hardware purchases when mass layoffs of civil servants are likely to reach unprecedented levels, pensions will be reduced to below-subsistence levels and various social-security funds will stop paying for medicines.

The signature, which Germany and France are insistently demanding from Samaras as the sine qua non condition for disbursement of the sixth tranche of the loan to Greece, is the insurance policy for Merkel and Sarkozy that Samaras will fulfil Papandreou’s promise over the military purchases, which was part of the secret deal.

Under the circumstances, it will be difficult to expect Samaras to sign any letter of guarantee the more that the IMF (read US) stays discreetly out of the dispute and does not request any signature from anybody.

The most logical development to expect, if Germany and France insist, will be for Samaras to withdraw his ministers from the Papademos cabinet and continue to provide support for the ‘service’ government, until the 19 February 2012 election. (full article HERE)

Beginning of October, German weekly DER SPIEGEL had a similar story claiming that the deal between Greece and France was that Athens would purchase four frigates from Paris, worth €1.2 billion. A deal openly allegedly opposed by German Thyssen-Krupp. Here is what KTG reported (and translated)