A clear and cynical confession by the German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass: The strict austerity imposed in Greece, for example, during the economic crisis and the Troika were “torture tools.” In an interview with magazine der spiegel, Maas spoke about tackling the crisis created by the pandemic and said that …
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Greece’s shopkeepers launch strike to protest law for opening shops 30 Sundays per year
The Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE) announced it will launch a strike on Sunday, May 7, to protest legislation that will increase the number of Sundays that retail outlets are allowed to operate during the year. Opening shops 30 Sundays per year is included in the deal Greece …
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Professional associations react to ‘open shops on 30 Sundays per year’
Shops in Greece will be open 30 Sundays per year and not just eight as it became custom in the last years of bailout agreements. However, professional associations of workers and employers react to the measure claiming the big stores will swallow the small ones. Shops will be open in …
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Dijsselbloem calls on end of Troika, ESM to be turned into a European IMF
Head of Eurogroup, Jeroen Dijsselbloem decided to launch a revolution. In an interview to a German conservative newspaper, he called on the end of the EU Troika and the mutation of the European Stability fund into a European IMF. Behind Dijsselbloem’s proposal stands the powerful German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble …
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February goes, the Troika comes…
Representatives of Greece’s creditors returned to Athens and they resume talks in an effort to reach an agreement on technical level (staff level agreement) and conclude the second review in no longer than two weeks. According to Athens News Agency, the European side but also the International Monetary Fund consider …
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Creditors’ new combo “The Troika Four” started inspections in Athens
I have been wondering whether the new Troika which is a Quartet should be called “The Creditors’ Quartet” or “The Troika Four” or just “Greece’s creditors”. The new combo of representatives from European Commission, International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank and European Stability Mechanism definitely news a new short description, …
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Bailout talks in Athens: Greek Govt puzzled about where to hide 100 Troikans & Legionaries
Greece has submitted an official request to the International Monetary Fund for a new loan as it seeks a huge third bailout from its creditors, the finance ministry said. “We would like to inform you that we are seeking a new loan facility from the International Monetary Fund,” Finance Minister …
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Supreme Court orders Greece to reverse 2012 pension cuts as “unconstitutional”
Greece’s top administrative Court Council of State ruled out on Wednesday that the pension cuts of 2012 imposed by the Troika were against the Constitution. The court ruling followed a massive litigation by individual pensioners and pensioners’ associations from the country’s private sector. The Council of State ruled that the …
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Oldest MEP & Resistance Fighter Manolis Glezos calls on Greeks to “say NO to Loan Sharks” of Troika-Institutions
Veteran Politician and resistance fighter, Manolis Glezos, with 92 years the oldest member of the European Parliament called on Greeks to take to the streets and stage protests against the “economic asphyxiation” imposed by Greece’s creditors. And to say “NO to loan sharks” of the Troika-Institutions. At the same time, …
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German state TV: Eurozone didn’t allow Greece to bankrupt in 2010, due to German & French banks
German state broadcaster ARD aired a documentary that shocked many conservatives, neoliberals and hardliners accord the German country. The documentary with the title “The trail of the Troika – Power without Control” , a documentary produced by RBB from network ARTE showed to Germans a different approach to the Greek …
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Tsipras: “The Troika is over” – Well, how should we call it now?
OK, there is no Troika, there is no Memorandum. Negotiations between Greece and its European partners started first of all with some compromise on pure linguistic level. “Did you hear Juncker mentioning the Memorandum?, ” Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras told journalists during his press conference last night in Brussels …
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7 out of 10 Greeks support Tsipras’ confrontation with Troika
Seven out of ten Greeks support Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras the way he deals with the country’s lenders, the Troika. According to a poll conducted by the University of Macedonia, the majority of the respondents believe that the PM is determined to implement his pre-elections commitments and that the Greece-Troika …
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ECB to stop accepting Greek bonds as collateral for granting liquidity
This is pure and blatant blackmail and came without a warning! The European Central Bank decided to stop accepting Greek bonds as collateral for granting liquidity as of February 11th 2016. Greek banks can still receive emergency funding from Greek Central Bank via Emergency Liquidity Assistance, a statement said. ECB …
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UPD Juncker, Moscovici, Berlin signal to scrap the Troika
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs Pierre Moscovici signaled that they want to scrap the Troika, the representatives of International Monetary Fund, The European Union and the European Central Bank, dealing with the Greek bailout programs, the austerity time table and the so-called …
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Varoufakis adamant in Paris; French FinMin Sapin did not freak out (lol)
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis met his French counterpart Michel Sapin in Paris. After the bilateral talks, the two men held a joint press conference. The Greek was adamant in his positions: he said that: a new debt deal was needed within months and reiterated that he would not negotiate …
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Obama on Greece: “You cannot keep on squeezing countries in recession” (video)
U.S. President Barack Obama made a sound intervention in what it seems to be in favor of Greece’s positions “development vs austerity”, saying that you cannot keep squeezing countries in recession and that there should be a development strategy so that these countries can pay back their loans. Speaking to …
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Dijsselbloem: “You just killed Troika” – Varoufakis “WOW!” (video, pics)
The joint press conference was concluding, when Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis droped a last bombshell. “…and with this if you want – and according to European Parliament – flimsily-constructed committee we have no aim to cooperate. Thank you.” Varoufakis was referring to the famous Troika, the country’s official creditors …
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Varoufakis tells Dijsselbloem: “Greek gov’t will not negotiate with Troika”
I don’t know what the two finance ministers said behind closed doors, but the press conference run wild. Yanis Varoufakis was very clear: “Greek government will not negotiate with the Troika, only with official parters” he said during a joint press conference with the head of Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem in …
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Debt Restructuring: A Deal or Not a Deal? Greece already served the Amuse-Gueule…
Let’s put two things clear right away: Greece’s SYRIZA-led coalition government insists on debt-restructuring, negotiations with the country’s creditors and a “new European deal” in general. In contrast, Greece’ creditors, mainly the European Union with the lead of Germany warn the Greek government that it should forget debt-restructuring and it …
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Eurogroup warns: No debt forgiveness for Greece; Dijsselbloem in Athens
The eurozone has ruled out debt forgiveness for Greece and warned Alexis Tsipras that his anti-austerity coalition government must honor all past agreements with international creditors. In a meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Brussels on Monday, a day after left-wing SYRIZA won the parliamentary elections, the euro bosses warned …
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