For nine hours Greece stood under the heavy ammunition by Germany, the block of five ex Communist states… until Finland’s extreme-right radicals ‘true finns’ seized the Eurogroup session. They – their small Finnish parliamentary group- demanded that no further aid in form of European Stability Mechanism funds should be given to Greece. Then Malta and Slovenia raised new demands to be asked from Greece… Around 1 o’ clock in the morning, the Euro finance ministers left the hall to their Brussels hotels for a short rest after another ‘exhausting’ day. The Eurogroup meeting resumes today, Sunday, at 11 am Brussels time (12 GR time).
Saturday’s Eurogroup ended without joint statement, as the initial mood “All against Greece” had turned into “All against each other” towards the end of the session.
EU source: tension btw
#Draghi–#Schauble because the first tried to support#Greece for the PSI.#Dijsselbloem calmed them down.#Eurogroup“Don’t take me for a fool,” Schaeuble reportedly told Draghi.
After the meeting, EG-head Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters : “The issue of credibility and trust was discussed and also, of course, the financial issues.”
The eurogroup last night
According to Reuters:
“Skeptical euro zone finance ministers demanded on Saturday that Greece go beyond painful austerity measures accepted by Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras if he wants them to open negotiations on a third bailout for his bankrupt country to keep it in the euro.
The ministers postponed until Sunday a decision on whether to recommend starting talks on a new loan for Athens and sought further commitments first on product market liberalization, labor laws, privatization, state reform and more defense cuts, plus a promise to pass key laws next week, officials said.”
There have been some ‘leaks’ or better call them ‘rumors’ that:
1. among the EZ-countries demands were also to appointed “creditors’ supervisors inside the Greek administration.”
2. The EURO Leaders are to give Greece a deadline until next Wednesday, July 15/2015, to pass first “prior actions” bills through the Parliament.
But the most important issue on Saturday night, was the leakage of a non-paper by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in which he proposed a “temporary 5-year Greek exit from the Eurozone.” The non-paper was reportedly agreed with Chancellor Angela Merkel, while Vice Sigmar Gabriel (SPD) was brief on the German intentions and plans.
Schaeuble did not present the non-paper to the eurogroup, but he was desperately searching for the mask that had fallen off his face and had confirmed what everybody was sure of: That Schaeuble is determined to have Greece out from the EZ and that he will not accept anything Greece’s offers.
Sunday morning, the Eurogroup ministers started to flock to the Lex building again, making short statements to the press. What has becomes clear so far, is that France definitely wants to keep Greece in the Euro and that together with Italy are raising voices against Germany.
Whether Finland wants to bail-out Greece or not is not that important: Because the ESM funding can be approved even without Finland, in case the Eurogroup decides to call “emergency majority voting of 85%”
ESM vote%
Fact is that Greece is trapped: with or without Euro, Greek banks are on the verge of collapse after the ECB froze the ELA and bank holiday and capital controls since June 29th 2015 have drained bank and the state’s liquidity.
Sunday’s good news is that European Council President cancelled the 28-EU Leaders Summit, originally scheduled for after the Euro Leaders Summit.
I have cancelled
#EUCO today.#EuroSummit to start at 16h and last until we conclude talks on#Greece
The 28-EULeadersSummit was put on the agenda, suggesting that talks on Greece both in the Eurogroup and EuroLeadersSummit would end without the crucial compromise and that Greece’s default was imminent. The 28-EULeaders were supposed to decided whether Greece should default within or outside the Eurozone. In that sense, the EUCO cancellation is a good news, the only good news in the last hours/days/weeks.
From Saturday’s Eurogroup, we should keep two thinks in mind:
1. the Finns who believe in Santa Claus do not believe in Greece.
2. Many devoted pro-Europe Greeks started to reconsider and thus since a year ago. And the same happened to other European people.
When Eurogroup and Summits are ON, you will find me on Twitter: @keeptalkingGR.
Maybe Schaeuble is doing Greece a big favour with his attitude of Grexit regardless of the level of capitulation from Tsipras in bending over backwards to the troika.
Alternatively, the German position is one of ‘hardball’ in which they know it will be difficult for Tspiras to persuade the Greek Parliament to privatise state assets and probably sell off the beaches and coastlines and other state assets to the armada of private companies (mostly IMF-sponsored). In that sense, the EU is looking for above-normal assurances that it can ‘trust’ Greece. ‘Trust’ is the new normal in all the papers over the past two days and this word is used in a derogatory way towards Greece. Apart from banksters, wanksters and deeply corrupt politicians, who on earth can trust the Troika in helping others rather than themselves?
Already the worlds most famous and effective German leader in history – unfortunately he lost the war (first in Greece, uii) and couldn’t finish his fantastic plans of a united Europe although he had already a money union of 21 states and planned Europabank (ECB) in Vienna – was calling “the” Greeks “lazy-slobs, racketeers and corruptors”, the anti-Greek propaganda has deep roots just like against Gypsies
small Finnish parliamentary group- demanded that no further aid in form of European Stability Mechanism funds should be given to Greece.
– according to my info they were nr 2 in elections.
This “True Finns” are not even Europeans, they should go back to Mongolia and pick up their other Huns in Budapest
Greece should take action , default on its debt , nationalize its banks , take back control of its Central Bank, create its own money . Exit Euro Zone , but not EU
Then negotiate the level of default 70 % ? 80 % or less depending of the help the other euro member are ready to give
It is obvious that there is no other viable solution
The problem with Greece is that it lost credibility. Almost nobody trust Greeks after their games with referendum oxi and subsequent nai 6 days later. Many europeans were already upset when Varoufakis played his casino game. After accused us by terrorism you guys did lost not only credibility but also sympathy. People are asking what game those speculants are playing now? Who can trust them that they will also realize their proposals?
–
It is hard to get credit without credibility.
lost credibility was Saturday’s Eurogroup song. today is Sunday = new song
May be in Greek media it was presented as different song 🙂
But no surprise – how many times were we close to agreement according to Greek officials?
Keep talking Greece to have info from all sides.
The song remains the same, what kind of music you listen is obviously plastic music for plastic people
it depend with whom you speak. there are many people across europe who understand what the underlying issue is here – the imposition of a new economic order – where benefits to workers are to be rolled back – and massive privatisation will consolidate wealth in the hands of a few!
as far as greece – i’m with you – i hope greece decides to leave the euro and begin to rebuild their country, agriculture and manufacturing base…slowly but surely!
Yes I am sure marxists like Varoufakis say something else 🙂
But I agree on one thing – Greece should leave the euro.
Paul Mason @paulmasonnews 4 mins4 minutes ago
It seems Schauble’s back-of-envelope plan to give Greece “time out” from Eurozone had no support from SPD. @hubertus_heil
85 % is true, but in emergency situation. It would be possible to vote against the hardest hardliners : Finns and ex-communist states, if Germany agrees.
But it presents 3 difficulties :
1. such voting is only in “emergency situation” when all Eurozone is menaced ;
2. then these countries will not pay for bailout (but still get back from Greece what they loaned in previous bailouts !)
3. the point 2 (Finns do not pay, we must pay) is difficult to sell in Germany.
All in all , voting with 85 % is not so probable – except when only Finns stay… Most probable scenario: very hard austerity package. And I am afraid, it is better for Greece to agree not because it is right , not at all… But I suppose Grexit IS NOT prepared, so there is simply no other way out.
Since beginning I did not exclude that a well prepared Grexit (if Russia or China or anybody gave same money to protect banks) could be a good chance for Greece (devaluation, compromise about debt, after one two years growth). But it is rather impossible now.
Since then is interest “payback”? It’s for the risk and the ECB made so far 6 billion profit from this – of this Germoney took 2.4 bln – 40 billion the IMF received so far from Greece, Greece has to pay until 2030 150 bln interest and 50 bln debts, it’s the same with the lost taxes in Greece, 90% of the 70 bln are fines and interest; half truth are even bigger lies
Freedom of migration, haha, Greeks will stay in Greece and who can afford will go to Australia and to Amerika and be sure lots of Greeks who are born in Germany will leave too, shops, restaurants already get infected by this ECB-terror
I am not saying that it would be bad – I just see bad sides of the option. But it is probable too late for this.
Because there are plenty of good sides : Argentina and Russia diminished its debt by something like 40-60 %… Ecuador , I think ,too.
Devaluation would quickly reduce unemployment. And as local commodities would be cheaper, it would not be so terrible – at least after first year.
But it is probably too late.
PS. But of course I doubt that such a Grexit would be possible because of political reasons : membership in the EU (it means also free travel inside the EU and freedom of migration, which Greeks need now) could be menaced…
So probably the alternative to austerity is even more austerity or Grexit … negotiated with Mr Schaeuble… with partial debt reduction – but would anybody accept for example 40 % reduction even in negotiated Grexit ?
Austerity or more austerity ? That is the question. Because situation with closed banks is insupportable. But future can surprise …
Greeks won’t migrate to “Europe” only overseas
These “True Finns” are branded as far-right group in media, but actually they are rather mixed lot, in my view best described as leftwing-conservative-populists. Many of them are very EU-critical, but not all, or even majority of them. Few of them are ultranationalistic and far right, and even rasistic.
They had 18% support in 2015 elections, making them close third party in support, but they won one seat more than secondcomer due to distribution of votes.
One of their visible themes was stopping finnish tax money flowing to endless support programs for Greece, as it has been seen ending up in wrong hands, and Finland has her own national debt pile growing at alarming rate and serious fiscal austerity measures will be due during this government’s tenure.
the point is that while conservative EUpeans focus on ‘leftist SYRIZA’, wrong EU + EURO policies boost far-rights and populists.
Turks don’t understand that they seem to be not European enough but these mongols that now live in Finland and Hungary are