With Greece suffering from economic suffocation and the risk to run out of cash in March, international creditors hint that the last bailout trance of €7.2billion would be paid as early as possible, if Athens starts adopting necessary reforms – ‘reforms’ in the sense of ‘austerity adjustment’, right?
Greece needs to repay €1.5 billion to IMF in March and €6.7 billion in Greek government bonds maturing in July and August. The bonds are held by the ECB.
In an interview to Financial Times, Eurogroup head Jeroen Dijsselbloem said
“My message to the Greeks is: try to start the programme even before the whole renegotiation is finished.”
“There are elements that you can start doing today. If you do that, then somewhere in March, maybe there can be a first disbursement. But that would require progress and not just intentions.”
“If we spent two months talking to each other and not doing anything, at the end of April there are major problems.”
Prompt was the answer of the Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis who told Parapolitika Radio Monday morning:
“You will not get the tranche if the price is the continuation of the blackout in which we have been living fro so many years. We could have already taken it but we did not. If they ask me to continue the austerity measures I will not do it because the [Papandreou’s FinMin] Papaconstantinou’s doctrine “next tranche is above everything’ is over.”
“The agreement has not been achieved so that we can receive the tranche, but in order to give us time to negotiate a future agreement that will put Greece on the path of growth. Our target is to ensure the smooth flow of tax revenues and the regulation of arrears.”
According to Greek government, no additional measures will be necessary, once Athens manages to increase its revenues through combating tax evasion and making regulations so that debtors can pay their debts to the state.
But international creditors are in a hurry expecting from the new Greek government to do things the previous governments have failed to do in four years time. The country’s lenders and the Greek government are in diametrically opposed approach as to what it should be done:
Creditors: more austerity and cuts – yesterday
vs
Greek government: revenues increase & time
Pressure increases and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said over the weekend that
“If (the finance minister) doesn’t make the first payment on time, that’s a so-called default and I wouldn’t want to be in his shoes bearing responsibility for what would then happen to Greece.”
Then, we will have a credit event within the euro zone…
The Greek government believes it is obliged towards the voters’ mandate and that the strict austerity cannot go on like this.
PS With two rams (Dijsselbloem, Varoufakis are both Aries) in rival fronts I don’t think it will be easy to find a solution. No to mention the position of Virgo-Schaueble in the whole issue… 🙁
let there be a ‘credit event’ in greece…
call their bluff!
it would be the best thing for the greek people…
at least it would be the beginning of rebuilding the country and its infrastructure – and we won’t have to hear the name dijsellbloem and schauble anymore!
stronzi burocrati…andate al diavolo non vogliamo questa europa
It would be good for Greece to remember its own mythology here and look at the story of Prometheus taking the fire from the Gods to better the lot of the people. Zeus, like any God, being a vindictive, deceitful s*** gets in a total huff about this and p[unishis Prometheus by binding him to a rock and sending his vulture down to eat Prometheus’ liver. But, being v indictive, Zeus arranges for the liver to grow back again, so that the vulture can keep on feeding without killing Prometheus.
The analogy with the current situation Greece finds itself in is not lost.Greece took from the Eurobankgods credit that made good things possible. But then Greece was tied to the rocks and the Troika bird began to peck at its liver to take back what had been borrowed. And even more cruelly, provided Greece with more loans to pay the debt back with, while the Greeks had less and less to live on.
There is however an alternative ending to the one Αἰσχύλος gives us. Shelley proposes there is no reconciliation between Prometheus and Zeus. Instead, Zeus is abandoned by his supportive elements and falls from power, which allows Prometheus to be released.
It is time for Greece to re-write the classic ending….
(thanks CF for pointing this out)
classics 🙂
You greek people are a disgrace! I am so angry that I have to pay so much tax on my hard earned money just to support you lazy beggars.
Pull yourself together! Do you have no sense of honor? Just like little kids you beg for money. Month after month. You are pathetic!
You should be kicked out of the European union.
Klaus it is perfectly ok, that you are either not interested enough or too lazy to do research and inform yourself what is actually going on in the EU. Maybe you only read the BILD Zeitung. That is fine too. Whatever you prefer.
What is not ok though, is that you think you should voice an opinion about something you clearly have no clue about.
So, either educate yourself and do some real brain work or practice blissful ignorance in silence.
Auf Deinen oberlehrerhaften … ist …
Du bist doch nicht der (kvw) den du behauptest, oder?
and you are a fucking Nazi moron.However this time we will exterminate taking revanch for the jewish and greek people