Tag Archives: Troika

It was at least one water bottle that hit the glass window of the IMF representative in Greece Poul Thomsen. The Troika convoy was leaving the ministry of administrative reform in downtown Athens amid the tight seize of protesters angry about the upcoming lay-offs in public service. While the Troikas …

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The troika caused a social tsunami in Greece, Cyprus, Portugal and Ireland. This is the result of the members of the Employment Committee of the European Parliament who have investigated the impact of austerity and bailout program imposed on the debt-ridden Euro zone countries. “Unemployment grew, small companies disappeared, poverty …

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We finally seem to know why the Greek Development Ministry insists on abolishing the ‘fresh milk’ tag under the pretext of  “decreasing the milk prices”. Because the milk prices will skyrocket as the debt-ridden and jerks-hit country will impose the fat tax on milk. “An 8%-10% tax on all products …

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It looks as if slowly thε international community starts to realize that the grip of Troika’s imposed austerity leads to nowhere. Or better say: strict and merciless austerity leads right to the sharp teeth of a monster eating our flesh, to paraphrase the article “The euro’s hellhound -It is time …

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There is a news topic that it honestly surpasses me. It is complicated, it has lots of details of translation mistakes, pronunciations mistakes and lawmakers who don’t speak foreign languages and  to tell you the truth, I have no interest about. Yet I feel the need to post about it, …

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Greece’s Council of State dropped a small bombshell right in the middle of Troika-imposed radical income decreases. The Council of State has reportedly ruled that cuts made to the wages of members of the armed forces, police, coast guards and firemen in August 2012 were unconstitutional and that the government …

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Alexis Tsipras, leader of main opposition party left-wing SYRIZA rejected the option that he would put his signature under the Memorandum of  Understanding (loan agreement) between Greece and its lenders. Speaking to SYRIZA parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday, Alexis Tsipras said: “If they dare to ask our signature on their …

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It’s official! What we thought and reported about back in 2010 and 2011 about why there was no haircut of Greek debt, it’s been now officially confirmed by EU commissioner Olli Rehn. “Greek debt did not undergo restructuring ( haircut ) in 2010,  in order to avoid contagion of the …

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Prime Minister Antonis Samaras was forced to withdraw the 25-euro hospitalization fee bowing to the strong pressure of his coalition partner PASOK. The decision was taken on Tuesday afternoon, after a meeting between the PM and deputy PM, Samaras and Venizelos. The controversial hospitalization fee was to bring 40 million …

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The European Commission and the European Central Bank had conflicting interests when they acted within the troika of international lenders in bailed out countries, Members of European Parliament say. Othmar Karas and Liem Hoang Ngoc, the two MEPs tasked with looking at the problems surrounding the work of the so-called …

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Who are the advisers to Troika who rule over our austerity-hit lives? In Greece, in Portugal, in Ireland, in Cyprus and Spain? How do they get the jobs and the contracts? How much are they being paid to ruin the lives of citizens in the European South? What are their …

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Been there, seen that: the tough negotiations between Greece’s lenders’ representatives, the Troika, and the Greek government. Negotiations characterized by immense pressure from the side of the country’s lenders and anger from the side of the Greeks. And fears, that the economic collapse of the society could trigger unpredicted social …

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Tuesday is not a good day for the representatives of Greece’s lenders – the Troika – to visit the Finance Ministry. While IMF’s Poul Thomsen became the target of a handful of angry coins on Tuesday, November 5th, another Troikan – a no-name representative this time, got involved in a …

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The meeting between the Troika and the Minister of  Administrative Reform was postponed in what it looks as ‘disagreement on the lay-offs issues’. The meeting was scheduled for Monday morning, but it was cancelled by the Troika as the representatives of Greece’s lenders asked for “time credit” without giving further …

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In other Greek news: The Troikans Poul Thomsen (IMF) and Matthias Morse (EU) had to leave the building of the Greek Finance Ministry from a back door. Cleaning personnel on “mobility scheme” and Development Ministry personnel protesting the dismissal of their colleagues had blocked the main entrance of the ministry …

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This is going to be an evaluation, not a condemnation”, stresses Othmar Karas, Vice President of the European Parliament, who will lead the parliamentary inquiry into the work of the troika in Greece, Cyprus, Portugal and Ireland. He will do this job jointly with a French socialist. The Parliament calls …

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Do the Troika inspectors boycott Greece? Have they put their visit to Athens on hold? Reuters reported so on Thursday afternoon citing two “eurozone sources”. According to Reuters, the Troika put its visit on hold because the Greek government rejected more austerity measures. The news of a possible postponement set …

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Greece’s lenders want new measures to save 2 billion euro in 2014, Greece rejects the idea saying that Greeks cannot afford more income decreases. Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras -who recently claimed “the best political paper is the loan agreement” – insists that there cannot be any more “horizontal” cuts. Horizontal …

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The Eurogroup meets up on Monday in Brussels with Eurozone finance ministers expected to review individual bailout programs of Eurozone member countries. Greece will also be discussed even as its government is reportedly considering a proposal for a debt turnover Greek finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras will brief his counterparts about …

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Greece’s lenders, the Troika rejected two of Greek government plans: the tax reduction in heating oil and the broadening of income criteria for those entitled to heating oil allowance. The government had proposed to decrease at 15% the Special Consumption Tax for heating oil and avoid the freezing of Greek households and the incredible air pollution of …

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