Tag Archives: greek government

Cornered by fierce opposition criticism and lenders’ reservation to spend €2.4billion for defense issues, the Greek government defended the controversial F-16 deal with the U.S. The deal is not expected to harm the fiscal progress, the government spokesman said, while the defense ministry claimed that the upgrade work will be …

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Greek government spokesman told the President of European Stability Mechanism to mind his now business when it comes to work of the Greek cabinet ministers. Spokesman Dimitris Tzanakopoulos commented to statements by Klaus Regling that “some ministers oppose privatizations.” “It is not possible that some institutions make such comments about …

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Athens is willing to forego without the next bailout tranche of 7 billion euros, if there is not debt deal. That’s why the Greek government has put money aside and has not paid its own arrears to private companies. This is why German tabloid Bild writes on Tuesday. The newspaper …

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Greek government borrowing costs hit their lowest level in more than five years this week, investors speculate that Athens may soon end the exile from bond markets.  The Greek government signals return to the markets can happen already in summer 2017, short after creditors disburse the 7-billion euro bailout tranche …

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For one more time, the International Monetary Fund admitted it made wrong projections about Greece’s economy. This time it was IMF’s director of the European Department Poul Thomsen. Speaking at a press conference in Washington on Friday, Thomsen said the Fund’s projections for 2015 and 2016 were wrong because the …

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Greeece will need at least twenty years to have its GDP return to pre-crisis levels. This message full of … spring optimism was transmitted by Poul Thomsen, in charge of the European program of the International Monetary Fund. Speaking at a conference in the University of Oxford, Poul Thomsen said …

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One more Eurogroup for Greece as eurozone finance ministers meet in Brussels  later on Monday.  One more Eurogroup without great expectations like concluding the second review. The Greek government anticipates a sign of progress and looks towards the next Eurogroup meeting in April. Aim of both sides is to bridge …

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German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned that new negotiation should take place with regards to Greece’s bailout program, should the International Monetary Fund ultimately decide to remain out of the program. Speaking to German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Schaeuble said “If the IMF for some reason decides not to participate, the …

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Trump’s victory must have shocked the Greek government. The planned 2-day visit of outgoing US President Back Obama in Athens on November 15th will take place in a new dimension as the Democrats will be replaced by the Republicans in the White House. The left-wing government had put all its …

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Following pressure by he European Union, the Greek Government changed the composition of the Asylum Appeals Committees last week. The EU has been claiming  that the existing committees were not sending refugees back to Turkey, because they did not consider Turkey a safe third country for each applicant as the …

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Effrontery in its full width. All rigged in advance. A package of 3-billion-euro extra austerity measures to convince the International Monetary Fund to join the Greek program. Proposal was apparently tabled by German Finance Minister Wolgang Schaeuble at a secret meeting in Washington on Sunday, but it was a European …

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Paul Krugman believes that money is magic and if you believe in social justice, income equality and fairies, you can click your heels together three times and you can print all the money you want. Also he’s shocked that the Greek government had no backup plan except holding its breath. …

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It was and still is a heavy accusation. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker accused Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of having twisted his words regarding proposals to solve the debt crisis and that he was “not telling the truth to the Greek people”. Juncker indirectly but clearly implied that the …

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Greece got really and deeply lost in Value Added Tax rates. Monday night Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis announced his V.A.T. overhaul plan with two rates of 9.5% and 18% for cash payments and 3% “discount on V.A.T.” for non-cash payments. Once Tuesday broke in, the Greek Finance Minister saw his …

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Amazing! European Commission President Jean-Claud Juncker sat down and wrote several pages of a proposal to “help” Greece strike a deal with its creditors, unlock the impasse. allow the release of some bailout money to avoid default on June 5th 2015 and give time for a new deal in autumn. …

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The “embargo” that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had apparently imposed on her Finance Minister after the visit of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Berlin did not last long. Or was it no embargo but a spiritual Lent before Easter? Now that both the Western and Eastern Churches celebrated Jesus …

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I thought that it was only Stupidity that had no limits. I was wrong. It is also Boldness. Especially in Brussels the center of Europe that has mutated into the major command center  currently carrying the economic World War III.  Lost in ghosts of the past, the European Commission issues …

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Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras pleasantly surprised Greeks with the announcement of a series of measures to boost the social welfare state, to provide aid to vulnerable groups of the society and tax breaks to low-incomers, to cut state expenditure and to overhaul the institutions. The Greek PM also rejected the …

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There is much talking about debt forgiveness and haircut lately with many economists (finally!) wondering where did the bailout money for Greece go. “Just 10% from the two bailouts totalling €252 billion went into public spending,” UK-based NGO Jubilee Debt Campaign has found out. “London-based pressure group Jubilee Debt Campaign, …

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Greece’s resistance to Troika’s demand did not last long. Just a couple of days after the negotiations failure in Paris, the country’s lenders e-mailed the Greeks that they should definitely need to impose additional austerity measures and fill the hole of estimated 2.5 billion euro in the budget of 2015.  …

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