… with Panathinaikos fans Matches in Greece's professional football leagues … laws related to it." Greece's Sports Minister Stavros … season that professional soccer in Greece has been shut down. Matches …
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT world.einnews.com |
How the world sees Greece
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Greece to stop privatisations as Syriza faces backlash on deal
Greece's Left-wing Syriza government has vowed to block plans to privatise strategic assets and called for sweeping changes to past deals, risking a ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.telegraph.co.uk |
What Milton Friedman Would Do for Greece
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde wants the Greek government to offer a more specific plan for meeting its ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bloombergview.com |
Ex-finance minister denies tampering with list of Greeks with Swiss accounts
Former Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou appeared before a special court on Wednesday on charges of tampering with a document and attempted breach of trust in connection with his handling of the so-called Lagarde list of Greeks with Swiss bank accounts.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Tanker hostages taken off Nigeria released
Two Greeks and a Pakistani man who were taken hostage on board the Kalamos oil tanker off the coast of Nigeria on February 4 have been released by their captors.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Archbishop, education minister meet for the first time
The separation of the Church and state was not on the agenda of issues discussed on Wednesday by Education Minister Aristides Baltas and Archbishop Ieronymos, the head of the Church of Greece, during their first meeting.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Fitch warning on Greek sovereign and bank financing
The likely agreement to extend Greece’s financing agreement for up to four months significantly reduces the near-term risk of a breakdown in relations between the Greek government and the country’s official creditors, Fitch Ratings said.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
New Questions Over Greek Adherence To Bailout Commitments
That was quick … Less than two days after receiving the most tentative of approvals for economic reforms, and Greek officials have suggested that the ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.forbes.com |
The Greek drama is far from over, and its biggest impact on markets may be yet to come
For weeks, the new Greek government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras — elected on promises to repeal much-hated austerity measures attached to ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT business.financialpost.com |
Greece suspends soccer in attempt to end stadium violence
Ed AdamczykATHENS, Greece, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- The Greek government suspended professional soccer in the country Wednesday, a move prompted by stadium violence.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.upi.com |
Greek Energy Official Opposes Privatization
Greece’s new plan to revamp its economy to satisfy eurozone creditors hit resistance to a plan to sell off assets.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT rss.nytimes.com |
Greece cannot decide on privatisation delays alone
Asked about possible delays in Greece's privatisation plans, German finance ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger told reporters: "If the Greek ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.reuters.com |
Econ expert: "You can't turn Greece into Sweden overnight"
Greece has a structurally weak economy, so naturally, you run into problems if you try to sort it all out
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
Tsipras hears first (soft) internal criticism of eurogroup agreement
“Whoever disagrees with the agreement should say so,” the Greek PM told party MPs
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
Greece crisis: New government halts privatisations, despite promises
Greece will not go ahead with privatising its dominant electricity utility PPC or power grid operator ADMIE, Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis said, despite promising its creditors not to halt sales that are underway. The comments from Lafazanis ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.independent.ie |
Fate Of Christians Abducted By ISIS Unclear
BEIRUT (AP) — Islamic State militants have moved a large group of Christians they abducted to one of their strongholds as fighting raged on Wednesday between the extremists and Kurdish and Christian militiamen for control of a chain of villages along a strategic river in northeastern Syria, activists and state-run media said. The Khabur River in Hassakeh province, which borders Turkey and Iraq, has become the latest battleground in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria. It is predominantly Kurdish but also has populations of Arabs and predominantly Christian Assyrians and Armenians. In pre-dawn attacks, the IS on Monday attacked communities nestled along the river, seizing at least 70 people, including many women and children. Thousands of others fled to safer areas. The fate of those kidnapped, almost all of them Assyrian Christians, remained unclear Wednesday, two days after they were seized. Relatives of the group searched frantically for word on the fate of the loved ones, but none came. "It's a tragedy ... It is true what they say: history repeats itself," said Younan Talia, a high ranking official with the Assyrian Democratic Organization who spoke to The Associated Press from Hassakeh. He was referring to the 1933 massacre by Iraqi government forces of Assyrians in Simele, a town in northern Iraq, after which the community fled to the Khabur region, and massacres against Armenian and Assyrian Christians under the Ottoman empire. State-run SANA news agency and the Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria said the hostages have been moved to the Islamic State-controlled city of Shaddadeh, south of the city of Hassakeh. The United States and a coalition of regional partners are conducting a campaign of airstrikes against the group, and have on occasion struck Shaddadeh, a predominantly Arab town. "In addition to its strategy of terrifying people, taking hostages to use as human shields to protect from coalition airstrikes is another of its goals," said Osama Edward, director of the Stockholm-based Assyrian Network for Human Rights in Syria. The mass abduction added to fears among religious minorities in both Syria and Iraq, who have been repeatedly targeted by the Islamic State group. During the group's bloody campaign in both countries, where it has declared a self-styled caliphate, minorities have been repeatedly targeted and killed, driven from their homes, had their women enslaved and places of worship destroyed. The Assyrians are indigenous Christian people who trace their roots back to the ancient Mesopotamians. Talia said IS militants had raided 33 Assyrian villages on Monday, picking up as many as 300 people along the way. Many were plucked from their beds at dawn. A man who refused to leave his home was set on fire along with his house. He added that more than 700 families who fled Khabour region had arrived in Hasaskeh, while 200 other families fled to Qamishli. "We are watching a living history and all that comprises (it) disappear," wrote Mardean Isaac of A Demand for Action, an activist group that focuses on religious minorities in the Middle East. He called for further airstrikes to assist those Assyrian and Kurdish forces fighting the militants in Syria. In its first comments on the subject, SANA said around 90 civilians had been kidnapped by the extremists. It said that the militants burned people's homes and stole their properties, adding that those kidnapped were taken to Shaddadeh. It quoted the patriarch of the Greek Catholic church, Gregory III Laham, as saying that in addition to the abductions, the militants destroyed the historic church in Tal Hurmiz, one of the oldest in Syria. "Does the world need additional proof to stand united effectively against this epidemic and this criminal, inhuman group," he asked. Edward, who said his organization relied on observers on the ground in Syria, said two historic churches have been burned by the militants, one in Tal Hurmiz and the other in Qaber Shamiyeh. Yunan Ruel Odishu, a priest from Tal Hurmiz currently in Dohuk, Iraq, said the Islamic State group issued a statement last month warning them to remove the cross from the village church, but the priest there didn't respond. "In the last few days, they attacked all the villages. We think as a response to that," he said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a Christian group called the Syriac Military Council said heavy clashes against militants in the area were continuing. The group, which is fighting alongside Kurds and Arab militiamen, said three of its fighters were killed in Tal Hurmiz Tuesday. "The Syriac Military Council and the Khabur Guards are determined to fight back ISIS, to regain the Assyrian villages and to release the Assyrian Christian hostages from ISIS," it said in a statement, using an alternate acronym for the Islamic State group. The Islamic State group has a history of killing captives, including foreign journalists, Syrian soldiers and Kurdish militiamen. Most recently, militants in Libya affiliated with the extremist group released a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians. The extremists could also use the Assyrian captives to try to arrange a prisoner swap with the Kurdish militias it is battling in northeastern Syria. Talia appealed for "anyone with a free conscience" to address the tragedy of the Assyrians. "We have lost our homes, our property, everything. But the hardest thing we lost is our dignity," he said. ___ Associated Press writer Bram Janssen in Irbil contributed to this report.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com |
German Parliament to Vote for Greek Program on Friday Amid Schaeuble’s New Threats
The Bundestag (Germany’s Federal Parliament) will vote on the extension of Greece’s loan agreement four-month extension on Friday, Christian Democratic Union (CDU) parliamentary representative Michael Grosse-Broemer announced earlier today. Grosse-Broemer appeared confident that the voting will result to a “widespread adoption” despite doubts mainly expressed by associates of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Wolfgang Schaeuble: Greece won’t get a single euro until pledges are met On the opposite though, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble stressed that Greece, having won breathing space in its debt talks, will not receive “a single euro” until it meets the pledges of its existing bailout program. In an interview with German public radio SWR, the leader of Eurozone’s hardliners toward the Greek issue underlined that Athens will get the assistance only if it fulfills what was agreed with the institutions (European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund). “If they fulfill those, then they can still receive the outstanding payments. And if they do not fulfill those, there will be no payments,” he declared.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Amnesty International Warns Over Racism Incidents and Police Brutality in Greece
Its annual global report on the state of human rights for 2014 published Non Governmental Organization (NGO) Amnesty International that focuses on human rights and currently has more than seven million members and supporters across the globe. The report highlighted that increased allegations of police brutality were monitored in Greece that were eventually inadequately investigated as well as other unlawful practices such as the “push-back” of migrants attempting to cross the Greek borders. Among others, the NGO underlined that “new hate crime legislation was adopted in September amid growing concern on the level of racist violence.” In addition, radically motivated crimes were also on the rise in 2014, while the upcoming trial of extreme right, xenophobic party Golden Dawn and Nikos Romanos’ prolonged hunger strike were also mentioned. “Allegations of excessive use of force and ill-treatment by law enforcement officers persisted and continued to be inadequately investigated. Detention conditions remained very poor. The maximum length of administrative detention of irregular migrants was extended beyond 18 months. Unlawful push-backs of migrants across the Greece-Turkey border continued,” the report said. Refugees’ and migrants’ rights, discrimination cases, hate crimes, tortures and other ill-treatments, arrests of conscientious objectors and the freedom of expression are also monitored by Amnesty International. Background as published in Amnesty International’s annual report on Greece In October, the Public Prosecutor proposed the indictment of 67 members and leaders of Golden Dawn, a far right-wing party, for forming, directing or participating in a criminal organization. Fifty-seven individuals, including six MPs, were accused of a series of additional offenses, including the murder of anti-fascist singer Pavlos Fyssas in September 2013, causing “unprovoked bodily harm to migrants,” and unlawful possession of weapons. In November, anarchist Nikos Romanos, detained at Korydallos prison near Athens, began a prolonged hunger strike in protest of the authorities’ refusal to allow him educational leave to attend a university course. He had been imprisoned in October after being convicted along with three other men for an armed robbery. In February 2013, Romanos and two of the other men reported that they were tortured while in detention following their arrest in the northern town of Verria. On December 10, Romanos ended his hunger strike after a legislative amendment was passed allowing prisoners to attend campus courses while wearing electronic tags.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Populism Sounds Good, but It Always Ends Badly
BUENOS AIRES -- "Populism" is one of those ubiquitous words that eludes definition. In contemporary Europe, many are proposing it as the solution to the twin evils of chronic corruption and economic crisis. It is now in power in Greece, looming in Spain and latent in Italy. Although explicit comparisons are often omitted, populists liken the future of Europe to the present "new left" regimes in Latin America, such as those of the late Hugo Chávez in Venezuela, Néstor and Cristina Kirchner in Argentina and Rafael Correa in Ecuador. Behind this idea of "populism as liberation" from the "injustice of castes" (or entrenched elites) more often than not we find the ideas of Ernesto Laclau, an Argentine philosopher who lived most of his life in the United Kingdom, where he taught at the University of Essex, and passed away last year in Seville while delivering lectures about his ideas. Yet the liberation promised by Laclau is no such thing. For his part, Laclau applauded social polarization that divides society in factions. This neo-Marxist perspective that applauds the division of society actually erodes the possibility of political and economic development because it hides beneath the veneer of localist folklore the belief that certain societies simply cannot achieve workable democracies. Paradoxically, Laclau -- a tireless defender of the liberation of the oppressed -- usually wrote in a pedantic and inaccessible style: he was an archetype of an ivory tower far removed from the minorities his writing upheld. And yet, his social diagnosis in HegemonÃa y estrategia socialista (1985, with Chantal Mouffe) and On Populist Reason (2005) deserves credit: political populism is a natural response to a democracy sick of corruption and an economy that fails to provide equality of opportunity for those of diverse social or ethnic origin. This is especially but not exclusively true in post-war Latin American democracies. Yet the central mistake of the "new left" is that this populism does not liberate: in practice, in places such as Venezuela, the populist polarization excludes opposition voices from election, and, whenever necessary, resorts to violence to maintain power. In the end it perpetrates old inequalities, hindering the very meritocracy that creates middle classes and institutional checks and balances. In short, the history of populism is that it succumbs to the very vices we should fight. After all, are the new Chavista elites in Venezuela that traffic gas across the border to Colombia, the dons of public works in Argentina with Swiss bank accounts or the corrupt apparatchiks in Brazilian state-owned enterprises all that different from the oligarchic elites that they ostracized? They represent the very same oppression, only with a different oppressor. None other than Lampedusa's Gattopardo made that great point that "for everything to remain the same, then everything must change." What truly transforms societies and delivers them from cultural determinism -- of the kind that once said Spain could never be democratic or that Argentina cannot go a decade without a crisis -- is not embracing democratic sins as authoritarian virtues. Rather, it is to provide more freedoms and education, basically the Enlightenment ideals that made liberal democracy possible in Western Europe. When the edifice of the neo-Marxist economy crumbles it is evident that the victories of the new left are scant at best. Their biggest accomplishment -- the reduction of inequality -- owes as much in Latin America to macroeconomic forces like a decade-long global commodity boom as to political decisions. Those Europeans tempted by populist politics should see in Latin America an avoidable future: the empty shelves in Venezuela while its government finds funds to support populist party Podemos in Spain or the stagflation in Argentina that hurts the poor while the sitting vice president is twice indicted for embezzlement. These are not accidents; they are the logical consequences of authoritarian regimes that think themselves beyond reproach or term limits. We should not forget that the populist alternative in the 1920s and 1930s yielded regimes far worse than the admittedly imperfect democracies they overthrew. If our democracies are weak, then let us feed them more democracy, more anti-corruption drives, more education -- and less messiahs. In post-war Europe, we have committed many mistakes; but the achievements of the social market democracy that overcame authoritarianism cannot be denied. Today's Spain is far more plural and successful than the Spain that awoke from a long nightmare of Franco's dictatorship in 1975. We are far from perfection, but the political development of an integrated Europe underscored José Ortega y Gasset's teaching that the Europe of individual freedoms and democracy was the solution. THE APPEAL OF UTOPIA From a philosophical perspective, humanist liberalism admittedly has a hard time standing up to populism and its universalist utopias. Humanism knows itself limited, imperfect, in short human. It does not attract saviors, but statesmen: those that can conceive of the day after leaving power. That kind of leader builds institutions rather than personality cults. Laclau's post-Marxist defense of populism therefore cloaks an old authoritarianism behind the façade of localism and folklore. But that populism reveals itself to be oppressive when it demonizes opposition, when it attacks or restricts the free press, and when it only deepens the corruption that it promised to eradicate. This neo-Marxism is, in the end, a rather aged authoritarianism. Such is the moment of deep break when the very Mussolini that promised to "hang the last Pope with the guts of the last King" once in power cuts a deal with the former and embraces the latter. Or when Argentine President Kirchner, always eager to highlight in the socially responsible policies of her administration, dresses in Louis Vuitton and the family of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro travels in private planes. The political tale and its underlying philosophy is revealed as vacuous when confronted with reality. Faced with the challenge of populism, let us then defend the imperfect liberalism that allows for questions, for compromises, one that refuses to demonize the enemy or allow for indefinite re-elections. Faced with the choice, let us choose more humanism and more democracy. Theory aside, in politics messiahs of populism belong in the dustbin of history.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.huffingtonpost.com |
Times Insider
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras attends a cabinet meeting at the parliament building in Athens, on Feb. 21.Credit Kostas Tsironis/Reuters.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.nytimes.com |
Greece will face problems to pay IMF & ECB in July, but Germany wants a 3. bailout package
“Greece does not have liquidity problems but in will face trouble to make installment payments to IMF and ECB in July,” Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told Greek Alpha 98,9 FM on Wednesday. Asked about whether there will be a liquidity problem in the near future, Yanis Varoufakis said: We have […]
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.keeptalkinggreece.com |
Former Greek finance minister George Papaconstantinou in court
Former finance minister accused of tampering with public list of tax evaders and attempted breach of faithA new front in Greece’s unfolding economic drama has opened in Athens as the former finance minister George Papaconstantinou, was brought before a special tribunal accused of tampering with a public list of tax evaders and attempted breach of faith.Facing a panel of judges convened for the hearing, the man most associated with Greece’s first international bailout cut a lonely figure as he pleaded not guilty. Continue reading...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.theguardian.com |
Greece debt crisis: Athens clears one hurdle . . . and faces more
The deal came together after weeks of hard bargaining in which Greece's new government insisted it would not be bound by reform commitments ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ft.com |
Tsipras Ripped For Bailout Deal
Greek Premier Alexis Tsipras on Feb. 25 briefed lawmakers on the bailout extension he signed and some were unhappy about it. The post Tsipras Ripped For Bailout Deal appeared first on The National Herald.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.thenationalherald.com |
Fitch: Greek Deal Positive But Financing Lags, Risks Remain
The European Commission, the ECB, and the IMF told eurozone finance ministers on Tuesday that they considered the Greek government's reform ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.reuters.com |
Varoufakis Counts On ECB to Stave Off Greek Default Next Month
(Bloomberg) -- Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said he's counting on the European Central Bank to help the country avert default when it ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bloomberg.com |
World markets subdued as Greek worries subside
London • Financial markets were subdued Wednesday ahead of another round of testimony from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen and as the ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.sltrib.com |
Cleveland State grad Basile brings Greek-themed laughs to the Improv
He'll perform Thursday through Saturday with his traditional stand-up act, then lay on the Greek on Sunday as about a third of the show is spoken in ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.cleveland.com |
Is Greek honeymoon over for Tsipras after EU bailout deal?
Half of Greek debt would be written off, he told supporters, promising to "finish with the orders from abroad". To rapturous applause, he insisted: "We ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bbc.com |
German court mulls Greek teacher's pay cut return claim
German judges are seeking a European Union court's advice on whether a teacher at a Greek school in Germany can claim back pay cuts caused by Greece's austerity drive.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Ioannina businessman arrested on tax evasion charges
A 63-year-old man in Ioannina, northwestern Greece, faced a prosecutor on Wednesday in connection with debts to the state estimated at 20 million euros.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ekathimerini.com |
Tanker crew members freed after kidnapping off Nigeria
ATHENS (Reuters) - Three crew members of a Maltese-flagged supertanker, who were kidnapped by pirates three weeks ago off Nigeria, have been released, Greece's foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT feeds.reuters.com |
Greek Party Syriza Retreats Under Troika Threats
On 20 February, Greek negotiators agreed a four month extension of the current bailout program with its creditors (the Troika – EU, IMF and European Central Bank). It is reported that the Greek delegation were subject to outright blackmail by the ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.socialistalternative.org |
Quietly, the Dow is on pace for its best month since 2011 (DIA)
Quietly, February has been a great month for stocks. And right now, the Dow is on pace for its best month since October 2011. In an afternoon email, the NYSE's Rich Barry pointed out that as it stands, the Dow is up more than 1,000 points — or better than 6% — so far this month to a new record high above 18,200. As Barry wrote: "On February 2nd, the Dow opened at 17,169.99, and at its last plus-tick the index stood at 18,222.11. You guys do the math, but I'm pretty sure it's 1,000+ points to the upside." If this gain holds, February would be just the third month in history that the blue chip index gained more than 1,000 points. And the last time the Dow gained more than 1,000 points in a month? October 2011. And so during a month in which markets were fixated on oil, Greece, and the Fed, US stocks have powered higher. Not bad. SEE ALSO: When the Fed finally raises rates, stocks will go nowhere SEE ALSO: The most important charts in the world Join the conversation about this story »
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT uk.businessinsider.com |
Greece: Government suspends professional football after violence
The move follows violence at a match between rivals Olympiakos and Panathinaikos, as well as a brawl between club officials at a board meeting on ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bbc.com |
Greek Bailout: Finance Minister Admits Greece Will 'Have Problems In Making Debt Payments'
Greece will struggle with its debt repayments, says Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, pictured here at a press conference with German Finance ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.ibtimes.com |
Greece's Alexis Tsipras Seeks Backing of Lawmakers Over New Deal With Creditors
The deal reached with eurozone partners and the International Monetary Fund late last week has forced Greece's government—in power just over a ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.wsj.com |
Greece suspends its football leagues indefinitely
Matches in Greece's professional football leagues have been suspended indefinitely in a crackdown on violence, the Super League said. The move ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.aljazeera.com |
Discontent over Greece bailout vow
Greece's prime minister has been briefing his party's lawmakers on pledges made to European creditors to win a four-month extension of the country's bailout, amid simmering discontent with what some see as a capitulation. Greece cleared a major hurdle ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.independent.ie |
Greek championship suspended after violence
Athens (AFP) - The Greek government on Wednesday suspended all matches in the country's football Super League following violence between rival supporters."The government decision to crack down on violence in stadiums is final," Deputy Sports Minister Stavros Kontonis said. "Under these conditions it is unthinkable to conduct our competitions. We need finally to apply the law."The suspension will apply for at least this weekend while security measures are taken, the deputy minister said.Join the conversation about this story »
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.businessinsider.com |
Greek football leagues suspended after latest fan violence
(CNN) The new Greek government suspended professional football indefinitely Wednesday after violence at a weekend match between the top two ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT edition.cnn.com |
German lawmakers expected to approve Greek rescue extension
“The question now is whether one can believe the Greek government's assurances or not. There's a lot of doubt in Germany, that has to be understood ...
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.euronews.com |
Gems trader arrested for 20-mln-euros in debts to state
63 year old entrepreneur from Ioannina owed to the Greek state the amount of 20.623.924.26 million euro
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT en.protothema.gr |
Is Greek honeymoon over for PM Tsipras?
Has lure of Greek PM worn off after bailout deal?
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT www.bbc.co.uk |
Greek PM Tsipras Briefs SYRIZA MPs on Negotiations
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras gathered SYRIZA’s Parliamentary Group in order to brief the party’s MPs in detail regarding the government’s moves since it took office on January 26. Tsipras referred to the difficulties and climate the new government had to face, the alliances formed and the conflicts that took place, as well as how things progressed between the three consecutive Eurogroup meetings and how the government managed to secure a strong negotiation position. According to SYRIZA sources, the Premier referred to the government’s achievements during that period of time. Those gains include: The distinction of the loan agreement from the Memorandum. The disengagement from the Memorandum, as an austerity policy framework. The interim agreement, which gives a breather to the Greek people. The avoidance of a plan aimed at economic and fiscal asphyxiation and essentially aimed at the government being considered a “left parenthesis.” The end of unrealistic primary surpluses. Stability in the financial system by reaching a Eurogroup agreement. Regarding the list of the reforms approved by the institutions and loan partners yesterday, Tsipras noted that the government managed to replace the previous government’s measures with a series of targets based on the so-called “Thessaloniki program.” Furthermore, he stressed that an important step has been taken, even though things remain difficult, and that the government is judged by its ability to negotiate and govern. Finally, he said that the government should quickly put its plan forward, specify reforms and gain credibility on the basis of implementing those reforms along with credibility to loan partners about “willing to make the necessary changes in thorny issues that persist for decades.” It should be noted that today’s meeting was scheduled for Tuesday night, after the Government Council, but it was adjourned due to the Parliament’s eventful meeting discussing the immunity lift or not of New Democracy MP Adonis Georgiadis. Reactions prior to the meeting Among the meeting’s participants was Productive Reconstruction, Environment and Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis who yesterday, during the Governing Council, expressed his objections on the reform program, estimating that the agreement is not compatible with everything SYRIZA committed it will implement. On her behalf, Deputy Finance Minister Nadia Valavani stressed her worries on the “speed” with which the government can “run” a negotiation regarding the pre-election proclaimed measure of the so-called “100 installments.” As she underlined, it is an absolute necessity not to waste time. Moreover, Foreign Minister Nikos Kotzias expressed his belief that the negotiations should also have a geopolitical dimension. The above objections came as a continuation of the criticism expressed on Sunday by SYRIZA MEP Manolis Glezos, who has heavily criticized the Greek government for the way it handled the Eurogroup negotiations as well as the agreed outcome. In a sharp statement published on the website of the Movement for Active Citizens that he founded, Glezos apologized to the Greek people for contributing to this “illusion,” as he characterized the negotiations from which many expected that Greece will have more gains. In response to the historic member of the Greek Left, the Government Spokesperson Gavriil Sakellaridis commented that “in any case, we will not cease to honor and respect Manolis Glezos, but that was a misguided and wrong statement.” Finally, on his behalf, SYRIZA MP Kostas Lapavitsas, in an article published on his personal blog, called for an immediate Parliamentary Group meeting, expressing his “deep concerns” regarding the Eurogroup agreement and the reforms expected by the government’s loan partners.
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| READ THE ORIGINAL POST AT greece.greekreporter.com |
Greek Deputy FinMin: €11 Bln Fiscal Gap by June
Just days after Greece’s agreement with its European loan partners, government officials express concerns that there will be fiscal gaps in the 2015 budget and a need for further aid. A few hours earlier, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble made the assessment that by this summer, Greece will need a third 20-billion-euro bailout, according to a Rheinische Post report. Talking to Greek TV, Labor Minister Panos Skourletis said: “Based on the financial obligations between now and August, we know that there will be financing needs.” At the same time, Deputy Finance Minister Dimitris Mardas spoke of an 11-billion-euro “hole” in the budget until June, and since there is no financial aid coming until the end of April, the Greek government needs to find a solution. A Finance Ministry official told reporters: “No one knows what we need to do now to get money from creditors. We are in uncharted territory. There is no beaten track. We hope it will go well, but there is no guarantee that it will go well.” “We did not manage to establish development measures for these four months and have not found a way to bridge the funding gap yet,” said another Finance Ministry senior official.
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German Historian: Rich Greeks Evade Taxes Since 1830
“The rich were exempt from taxes since the birth of the Greek state in 1830,” said German historian Heinz Richter, criticizing Greek political parties. The German historian and author is professor emeritus of modern Greek and Cypriot history at the University of Mannheim. He has written a book and several papers on Greece. Speaking to German Radio Deutschlandfunk, Richter spoke of a serious problem of political culture in Greece. In light of the new Greek government’s intention to create a more fair tax system by charging more to the high-income strata of Greek society, he said that this is impossible since rich Greeks are not paying their fair share of taxes since 1830. Richter put emphasis on another crucial aspect of Greek reality: “The political culture in Greece differs from the rest of Western Europe because it is based on clientelism… It is a completely closed system. And so the political formulas that apply in Western Europe, do not work there.” Seeking the roots of clientelism in the structure of the Greek state, Richter said that its origins are found in the period of Ottoman rule in Greece, which lasted nearly 400 years. The German historian criticized the way political parties operate in Greece. “The revolutionary war, between 1821 and 1830, was generated by clientelism. In this clientelism, political parties are parties in name only. In fact, they are client pyramids, consisting of leaders, high-ranking officials and subnets. These pyramids are maintained by favors done by higher-ups.” The German historian said that SYRIZA is no different from parties of the past. Therefore, he doubts that the new Greek government will be true to the expectations raised. “I remain pessimistic. The current situation is amazingly similar to 1981 when Andreas Papandreou came to power using almost the same slogans Alexis Tsipras is using today. PASOK seemed like a leftist party then, just as revolutionary as today’s SYRIZA. Nothing has changed,” said Richter.
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Financial Problems Lead Mother and Son to Suicide
Two more victims are added on the long list of casualties of the economic crisis in Greece. A 63-year-old woman and her 27-year-old son jumped from the fifth floor of their apartment building and died. The latest chapter of the Greek economic tragedy will include the first two suicides during the new leftist government. Of course the economic crisis is an ongoing plight that has entered the sixth year, but it is ironic that the administration that came to power with the pledge to put an end to such tragic incidents is now facing the first victims. The incident took place in Chalkida, central Greece, at 9 a.m. Wednesday morning. The woman and her son jumped from the fifth floor of their apartment building. The mother was killed instantly and her son passed away in the hospital a few hours later. At 9 a.m. on Wednesday, a neighbor saw the two bodies lying on the ground behind the building and notified the police. According to neighbors, the family was facing serious financial problems. The woman was receiving a small disability pension which was cut 2.5 years ago. For the past 3.5 years she wasn’t able to pay the rent but the landlord was aiding the mother and her son who had psychological problems. People who knew the woman described her as very proud and never willing to show that she was in need. She was getting meals from charities and soup kitchens. “I saw the woman every day and we were greeting each other. I knew she had financial problems but I never imagined it would come to this point,” said a tenant of the building where the mother and son lived. The apartment the woman was sharing with her son was meager, with very little furniture. Police have found a note which referred to a court decision that allegedly was a notification of the termination of her disability pension.
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Tough road for Greece as Merkel hails 'starting point'
Athens (AFP) - German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble voiced doubts Wednesday on whether indebted Greece can live up to its fiscal ...
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Implications Of A Greece Exit: More Than Just 2% Of Euro GDP
With the Greece negotiations hogging global economic headlines in recent days, I cannot help but ponder the implications of a Greece exit (“Grexit”) ...
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