Here we go again: The three institutions received and evaluated the Greek proposals and sent their commendation to the Eurogroup. In their assessment, the creditors reportedly accept Greece’s proposals as basis for negotiations for a new agreement but they also say that Greece must do much more in form of additional measures in order to meet the budget targets.
Although Germany’s warmest Grexit-supporter Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaueble has not commented on the Greek proposals yet, conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reports about the creditors assessment:
The assessment describes the Greek measures as reasons for “moderate optimism” but given the stalling economy, they are not enough to meet budget surplus targets of 1-3pc over the next three years, and 3.5pc in 2018.
“Overall, the paper of the institutions recognized that they include possible loopholes the Greek government had inserted in their proposals on Thursday. There must be a “clear common understanding on the content and timing of the received by the authorities of obligations which have a clear basis on which an ESM program can be agreed,” says the paper.”
“Significant deterioration in macroeconomic and financial conditions” is not sufficient to achieve primary surpluses in the state budget.
Additional measures would be needed to achieve the objectives. to achieve in the coming years, or that the objectives should be compared with the financing needs “, according to the evaluation of institutions.” FAZ via UK’s Telegraph
According to international media, the financial needs for Greece could be as high as €78-€84 billion for the next two years. An amount that sounds “astronomical” given the two previous bailouts for Greece.While a couple of days ago, the media talk was about a package of €50 billion, now the Creditors – or Institutions- added billions like from a cheap candy bag due to the rapid deterioration of economic activity because of the bank holiday and the capital controls imposed since June 29th 2015.
I assume, the creditors do not mention that the bank holiday and the capital controls were imposed after the European Central Bank has repeatedly froze the Emergency Liquidity Assistance to Greek banks and an orchestrated an anti-Greek bashing and scaremongering pushing Greeks to a never ending bank run. Of course, not. In creditors’ social etiquette it is not at all comme il faut to speak about such things that expose hypocrisy and organized plan.
Aegina vs Black Forest
It is not a secret that the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has declared “Grexit” to his life purpose. He lead an anti-Greek campaign through the German media. Schaeuble’s determination against Greece did not had much to do with his personnel feud with Yanis Varoufakis, as some mistakenly assumed. Schaeuble and some EZ countries he has under his sphere of influence, the conservative extremists in United Europe want to expel Greece from the Eurozone no matter that the Greek government will offer.
It also no secret that there is a major disagreement between Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Grexit-obsessed Finance Minister on “what to do with Greece” issue as Merkel does not want to go into history and economics books as the German Chancellor who destroyed the Eurozone first and then Europe.
Compromise can be found when both sides do a step back at a time. Greece got rid of Yanis Varoufakis. It’s time for Germany now to get rid of Wolfgang Schauble.
Varoufakis left Athens on Friday for the beautiful island of Aegina. I hear a nice little cottage in Black Forest is been currently brought up in order. When it comes to dilemma “Sea Breeze vs Mountain Air” one can pick up the nearest solution.
Anyway, according to latest information from Germany, just short before the Eurogroup started, the German Finance Ministry leaked to the press that Schaeuble is not satisfied with the Greek proposals. Nobody had expected that he would be… In contrast some German media claim that that Merkel definitely wants an agreement today.
If Schaeuble disagrees and Merkel pushes for an agreement today, he could resign later today or Sunday morning after consultations with his Stammkneipe friend.
We’ll see…
If you have missed Varoufakis’ statements and opinions, read here
PS my real honest opinion on creditors’ “more austerity austerity, more bailout money” I share only verbally among friends. It consist of three one-syllable and one three-syllable words. In Greek, of course.
