The atmosphere on Friday morning is good. Greece’s creditors cheer, international and even German media hail the Eurogroup deal as “‘end of the Greek crisis”, “Greece exits the bailout” and “the Greek debt is sustainable.” But the Eurogroup of the 19 finance ministers did not give Greece a debt relief. Neither lower interest rates or a growth clause. What they did was to extend:
- EFSF debt interests repayment and maturities of Greek bonds to 10 years
- strict austerity
- tight supervision
- and more ‘reforms’
The deal reached in the early morning hours of Friday due to German objections regarding the time debt extension, paves also the way for Greece to exit its 8-year bailout program.
Furthermore, Greece gets a tranche of 15 billion euros, a so-called “buffer” which is one more loan. From this 15billion, 3.3 can be used to buyback loans from the IMF.
The Eurogroup statement adulates the Greeks’ sacrifices and the government’s efforts but in substance the agreement is below expectations or real rewarding.
“We congratulate the Greek authorities and Greek people for the successful conclusion of the ESM programme. The Eurogroup acknowledges the significant efforts made by the Greek citizens over the last years. Greece is leaving the financial assistance programme with a stronger economy building on the fiscal and structural reforms implemented. It is important to continue these reforms, which provide the basis for a sustainable growth path with higher employment and job creation, which in turn is Greece’s best guarantee for a prosperous future.”
In its official statement the Eurogroup says it welcomes the commitment of Greece to maintain
- a primary surplus of 3.5% of GDP until 2022
- a primary surplus of 2.2% of GDP on average in the period from 2023 to 2060.
And stupid Euclid and retard Alex are in 7th heaven.
And the question is: is it possible that they are so stupid???
Answer: Of course not – they are simply faithful employees doing their job.
what should they have done according to your opinion?
What a joke! They are seriously expecting Greece to do something that no other country in history has ever achieved; to have a primary surplus for the next 42 consecutive years! “Everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to someone else.” But this is happening to us. They got what they wanted. Natural resources, land, even the Macedonian name, and finally turned us into debt slaves. And they were pretty organized on the heist of the century, they even had an alibi, and on top of that they ruined our reputation worldwide. That’s how they always win. What a nightmare. We should have stepped out and try on our own. Damn, it looks like it’s close to impossible to rule your country and to have an autonomous policy on this planet; one way or another, they just force you to follow their agenda and their grand geopolitical plan. But don’t worry, in 15 years we will probably have WW3, so…
How much longer are the Greek people and their cowardly government going to keep believing in these evil politicians and Bankers from Brussels, London and Frankfurt?
For as long as we exist, Carl. You see, that’s the “problem” with the truth; it keeps coming up on the surface, no matter how hard you try to suppress it. And don’t ask me to summarize decades of information and views on the subject, within a paragraph; I cannot practically do it.
The Greeks are more than 10 million (at least within the borders), and with more than 10 million different opinions. The Greeks elected a government who promised completely different things, compared to what it delivered. The Greeks were deceived. Even a referendum was ignored. All resistance thereafter has been crashed; they even used a foreign armed brigade on the streets (SEEBRIG). There is no democracy in Greece (in fact, I think the word democracy shouldn’t be used except from history books and perhaps Switzerland), no justice either. Throughout this time the MSM propaganda was so strong that pushed us to use predominately the internet, as our source of information; nowhere else in Europe has this occurred. More than half a million citizens left, because they couldn’t sustain their families. We turned to our families and returned back to the basics in order to survive. All major and crucial infrastructure was sold for peanuts (mainly) to the Germans. To make things worse, they try to turn our islands into “warehouses” of stocking immigrants and refugees. And the government has not acted cowardly as you understand it, on the contrary it has acted boldly, and executed adequately what was ordered (on way or another) to do. It was an unprecedented geopolitical battle and we lost. The inconvenient truth is that Greece was bankrupt, but it was artificially brought back to protect the German and French banking system, in order to sustain the EU from collapsing. And they made us pay for it. Greece was consciously and shamelessly “sacrificed”. They ruined a generation. Our grandfathers pardoned their debt, they didn’t pardon our. They even ignored the reparations. We should have faced bankruptcy and issue our own currency. In fact we shouldn’t even have joined the EU in the first place, but those in command of our lives, for decades, decided that the stability within EU was the way to deal with the Turkish expansion policy and the instability that was causing us. That’s why we bought so many weapons (mostly from USA and Germany) and we have the 25th most powerful army worldwide. The threat is real for us, but it’s easy for west Europe to point the finger, considering that you are not surrounded by enemies. The Greeks didn’t know a lot (feel free to blame us for this, you can rightfully do so), nobody taught us, but we are learning the hard way. Nonetheless the world is no much better to judge us. There are no saints around. So, long story short, the overall stakes were way too high, and we had no idea that the so called solidarity meant to them. We do now! We were the “guinea pig”, and they made an example out of us. But sadly, despite of all this, Germany is still ruining Europe, “tightening the rope” around all of us, for the 3rd time! If you don’t notice any long-term geopolitical dynamic in the area, if historical interests, intentions and conflicts mean little to you, if you don’t realize that within this area the “tectonic plates” of different cultures collide, then perhaps you should reconsider your views; though I find it hard to accept that you are unaware. But the Greeks are mostly Orthodox Christians and the imposed west Protestant’s mentality won’t work on us, neither the Islamic from the east (after all, we managed to withstand for half a millennium), let alone the African from the south. Even the Russians from north east who are desperately trying for centuries for a way out in the Mediterranean, are having problems (and despite of lately using Ivan Savvidis as a Trojan horse). In my opinion, the worst are yet to come, and rest assured that some of us are preparing ourselves. You see, some of us do learn from the mistakes of the past and silently organize.
Carl, those politicians are not evil, as you understand it, they hold a different view, with different interests, and try methodically to impose them. They benefit so far, but it’s not over yet. It’s a mistake to underestimate the Greeks. Greece is not a small country; is medium country with powerful armed forces and the will to survive. Once upon a time, when most modern nations didn’t exist, on this magnificent (“Chosen by the Gods”) land some people managed the impossible and extended the understanding of our species and the cosmos beyond the known limits. They had such a profound influence that nowadays everybody wants a piece of them, to the point of rewriting history to redefine an identity. We still hold the “copyrights”, as they run in our DNA, and we therefore still hold the potential for greatness. People envy us world wide, a fact which I experienced myself first hand, decades ago during my post graduates studies, when I heard my University professor saying it (and unlike what Wolfgang Schäuble claims, nobody envy the Germans, we are scarred of them, because they have no passion in their soul, hence they have the potential for world wars and genocides). Nowadays, Greeks are a naval superpower, not even the Chinese or the Japanese can surpass us; never forget this. In addition we are becoming the energy hub of the Mediterranean, and the entry port of the Chinese Silk Road. Greeks have survived for millennia, with our language and our beautiful cultural distinctiveness, and despite of our mistakes and of others who wish us slaves of even extincted, we’ll get through this as well.
As expected, the suspension of VAT hikes on the islands were an insignificant trade off, for slowly turning Greece into a “warehouse” of immigrants and refugees. A small victory for Merkel, in order to set back AfD essentially. This submissive leftist government is by far the worst in decades. I don’t endorse the ultra-nationalist party of Golden Dawn, in fact I don’t like it, but sadly I think that eventually, within the next 15 years (before WWIII), they will take over the government, most probably by forming an alliance with another right wing party. Unless something new comes up or Ivan Savvidis eventually steps in, there seems to be no other political force available right now in Greece. Of course, there is always a serious risk of a military “incident” with Turkey on Aegean, within the next few years, which will certainly cause an “avalanche” of political developments. A sad outcome, no matter how you see it.
Nobody, you should stop wining! Yes I agree with many of your points made especially from the bad banking sector. But isn’t it true that you yourselves have brought yourselves into this position.
I cannot and will not say that all Greeks are all the same, but being an educated person you will have heard of the Pareto Principle. Well, forget the 80/20 it’s a 2.0 version 90/10. Well, 90% of the Greeks are lazy and corrupt and those we are/were better, just turned a blind eye on everything – over decades.
In the last part of your elaborations, you write about an oh so great culture/country… well yes, the Gods did give you heaven on Earth, but you did f*ck all to make something out of it!
You should be the number one destination worldwide for “slow” tourism and would make billions out of that, but you are simply to lazy to develop, organize and ensure a sustainable income.
A comparison which is currently nearing a tipping point of going bad, is Mallorca. German efficiency made this island to a number one destination, but only now the Mallorquinas are waking up and opposing to the happenings.
You don’t seriously think Mallorquinas/Spanish would have gotten this act together? They`re just as lazy.
So, get rid of all your old men, that are desperately clinging on to their positions and power, dump them into their café Neos as that’s where they spend most of their time anyway and get the young 20-40 year olds into positions to make real changes – and at a certain point simply refuse the burdens from the EU – decades for repaying debts??? Ridiculous!
I still have my queries though, as you write, you’ve got it in your DNA… and I seriously ask myself if you can get your “then pirasi” attitude out of the way?
You are talking to nobody? If I may add a lighter touch on the conversation, it looks like somebody hasn’t read Homer! : )
Who is whining? Aren’t we all, more or less, one way or another? And, no, your core statement is false. Plus, your arguments are based on (imposed and barely true) stereotypes. Thankfully, they don’t apply to me, nor to my family or the people I know, therefore I am not talking it personally. Nonetheless, you are still wrong, and here is why.
So, let me start with the elephant in the room that nobody wants to address and admit. The inconvenient truth -you know, the one that usually hurts- is that modern Greece since day one has been deliberately a debt state, a protectorate, a “colony”, a controlled area on the map for various geopolitical reasons. For 200 years. That’s right, you’ve read correctly. It’s a conclusion, a lesson from history, which is never taught at school and cannot be summarized within a paragraph.
If you don’t agree with this, fair enough. There is no reason to continue reading any further. You can safely stop now. Thanks for your time and gooodbye. However, if you are still on board this verbal trip on a screen, “firing” in your mind, then everything along the way of arguing about it has a completely different meaning.
In a world with more than 200 countries, where one superpower and a dozen of great/peripheral powers control they way we all live, grosso modo, it is highly improbable to rise up and determine your life as a nation state.
And it takes a lot more than the Pareto Principle to describe a nation. Keep in mind that the principle that you brought up works for every nation, otherwise it wouldn’t be called a principle. Plus, particularity in economy, this principle has to do with the distribution of wealth (look it up, even in Wikipedia). Have you checked the bank account deposits in Switzerland? Last time I checked the Greeks were on top. Let alone that a country with a 90% corrupted and lazy population, as you falsely claim, does not really achieve anything worthy. And I am pretty sure that you are fully aware that Greece is not an African country. Therefore, for all these reasons, your argument is invalid.
Furthermore, history is not linear. But I am sure you already know this. It’s cyclical. No one stays on top forever. What comes up, must go down. This goes for nations too. The Greeks peaked too early and stayed there for long. Take a look in Wikipedia and you’ll notice that the Greeks had the Athenian Empire, the Empire of Alexander the Great, and 1000 years of the Byzantine Empire. Now watch again the opening ceremony of the 2004 Olympics to notice an artistic masterpiece, summarizing 5000 years of superior civilization in 12 minutes. And guess what, we are still here. Where was Arminius, during the Cycladic, the Minoan and the Mycenaean era? Therefore, your other argument is invalid too.
However, when America, Europe and Japan were stepping up their pace with marvelous achievements, we were under occupation. Because no one helped us (Russia, Rome, Austria) against the Ottomans, and we lost. Do you know how many times my ancestors revolted against the Turks? 124 times during 400 years of occupation. That’s how much they wanted to live free. Do you know how many times my ancestors bankrupted during the last 200 years as a so called “free” state? 7 times. And fully recovered. Do you know how many nations are debt free nowadays? None. Do you know how many nations are in control of their own state? Barely a dozen. Do you know why? Because they have a large population, they have enough resources, they have their own currency, they have weapons (mainly 5th generation jet fighters and nukes), and they already had a historical advantage. I’m talking about the same nations that will eventually start WWIII.