How the world sees Greece
Finance ministers from the countries that use the euro are set to hold last ditch talks aimed at reaching a deal to unfreeze vital bailout funds to Greece. Without a deal, Athens could go into default within days.
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Greece and its creditors are set for another clash over how to reduce the country’s debt, even if they manage to agree on the terms of new bailout funding in the coming days, documents seen by The Wall Street Journal ...
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LONDON — Forty-thousand refugees will be relocated from southern Europe under a deal reached by political leaders to tackle the continent's ...
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Despite angry rhetoric and accusations of "blackmail", negotiations were continuing in Brussels to find a last-ditch compromise to keep Greece in the euro zone to avoid a political train-wreck, economic chaos and financial market disruption. Greek Finance ...
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After yet another failed round of negotiations between Greece and its creditors in Brussels Thursday, I have so many questions about the logjam.
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Throughout the week proposals and counter-proposals have bounced back and forth between Greece and its creditor institutions, slowly narrowing ...
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Greece has rejected an offer from its creditors to extend the country's bailout deal as too little and likely to cause recession. The country's international ...
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After four months of banging their heads together the financial advisors of the Looney Left SYRIZA party came up with raising taxes to save Greece? The post SYRIZA’s Brilliant Idea: Raise Taxes During Recession appeared first on The National Herald.
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As the Greek debt bailout talks grind on there's a groundswell of opinion insisting that Greece is in fact being blackmailed here. And in one sense that's ...
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Greece and its principal creditors—the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund—should acknowledge that Athens ...
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The Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, has lashed out at his country’s creditors, accusing them of blackmail and ultimatums ahead of Saturdays’s last-ditch meeting in Brussels to keep Greece from going bust. The outburst came after an ill-tempered EU summit in Brussels, overshadowed by tensions over Greece’s looming Tuesday night deadline for debt default.
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… FRANCISCO, June 26 Anxiety about Greece and uncertainty about the timing … ahead of previous deadlines in Greek negotiations has been muted compared … right now. And of course, Greece." The strengthening economy suggests …
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… losses in global equity markets. Greece's creditors gave its … respond to the proposal, a Greek government official said on Friday … billions in frozen aid to Greece reduced demand for safe-haven U …
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… be passed by the Greek parliament. If Greece does default, it could … for cash-strapped Greece. Greek debt talks - main sticking points Greece has refused … offering What if the Greek talks fail Can Greece stay in the …
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While EU officials still seemed to be saying a deal was possible, the Greek ... "The proposal by the institutions to the Greek government entailed ...
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Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis held out hopes on Friday that a deal to release urgently needed bailout funds could be reached at a meeting on Saturday but expressed frustration with the stance adopted by international creditors. "I see no reason why we cannot have a deal," he said in an interview with Greece's Antenna TV, shortly before cabinet is due to hold a urgent meeting in Athens to discuss the proposals. Speaking from Brussels where he will attend a meeting of euro zone finance ministers on Saturday, he said the two sides would try to converge on an agreement that covered both debt and funding issues.
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Every week, we bring you one overlooked aspect of the stories that made news in recent days. You noticed the media forgot all about another story's basic facts? Tweet @TheWorldPost or let us know on our Facebook page. In 2010 and 2012, Greece accepted bailout deals from European creditors totaling hundreds of billions of euros in order to prevent the collapse of the Greek banking system. The funds kept Greece from a potential default that would force it out of the eurozone, but most of the enormous sum of money involved in the bailouts ultimately didn't end up funding public services or directly going to the Greek people. Instead, as The New York Times reported in 2012, much of the bailout funds went back to the same creditors who gave Greece both the bailouts. This resulted in a situation where the so-called troika of the IMF, European Central Bank and European Commission were effectively lending Greece money so it could pay off the debt it already owed them. As a senior adviser to Germany's Deutsche Bank told the Times then, the troika "is paying themselves." At the time, the bailouts stopped a potential "Grexit," or Greek withdrawal from the eurozone, and quelled fears that Greece's collapse could have a disastrous domino effect throughout the eurozone. But some economists say it did very little to actually put the nation on a path to growth. “The rescue that took place in the banking sector was really more of a rescue of northern European financial institutions that had overexposed themselves to Greece,” says Vicky Pryce, chief economic adviser at the analyst firm Centre for Economics and Business Research and author of a book on the Greek economy. The first bailout largely went to paying off the private creditors that held Greek bonds and were owed debt payments, notes The Washington Post. This removed some of the danger that if Greece defaulted on its loans, it would lead these French and German banks to bankruptcy and in turn have a negative impact on Europe's financial system. However, as Pryce explains, the bailout may have set up the Greek economy for a fall. “The concern about this particular debt is that all it did is it transferred this large burden to the Greeks," Pryce says. "It was so large and unsustainable, and the only way you can make it sustainable is if you grow very substantially.” In exchange for lending the funds, the creditors required Greece to institute strict austerity measures that many economists blame for holding back the country's economic recovery. It also set up a stringent schedule of debt payments for Greece to meet with its creditors, but the country didn't experience the growth predicted by the IMF that would have potentially given it the funds to pay these debts. This year's debt crisis negotiations have focused around a June 30 deadline for Greece to pay the IMF 1.6 billion euros, with additional payments owed to the ECB in July and August. As Pryce explains, large amounts of the 7.2 billion euro tranche of bailout funds potentially released in these negotiations would quickly recirculate back to the creditors who lent it. “It will go straight into an escrow account, an account that’s held in the European Central Bank through the Bank of Greece, and then out again, straight back.” -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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As Alexis Tsipras' five-month game of brinksmanship with European and international creditors reaches a tipping point, the time for responsible decision-making has finally arrived. Despite all his bluffing, Europe has not blinked. After Tsipras' most recent concessions, there was an increasing sense of optimism that a deal may be at hand. However, the battle in the Greek parliament, and beyond, is already under way. Whether or not Tsipras signs an agreement, the survival of his government is at stake. If no deal is reached with Europe, chaos will reign. Although Tsipras came to power on an anti-austerity mandate, he clearly has no mandate for a Greek exit from the Eurozone. If a deal is reached, it threatens to split the current government asunder with potential spillover into civil unrest as public debate intensifies. Recent clashes in central Athens may just be the start. Furthermore, releasing funds may take time. Last-minute jockeying by Tsipras and company may still prove too little, too late. Furthermore, a new deal would completely violate Tsipras' campaign promises by extracting approximately 8 billion euros from Greek citizens over 2015 and 2016. Constituting one-third of Syriza, the hardline Left Platform claims it is engaged in an ideological struggle for the soul of Europe against neo-liberalism. Accordingly, it would vote against a deal and deny the government a parliamentary majority. Tsipras could still secure parliamentary approval with opposition votes. However, it would render his position somewhat untenable and amount to a vote of no confidence. Technically, Tsipras should resign as prime minister. Like 2012, a temporary technocratic government of national unity should be formed in preparation for new elections. However, Tsipras' determination to continue as prime minister must not be underestimated. Should his government collapse, he may attempt to reshuffle his governing coalition with elements of Greece's center-left. After all, Tsipras is proving a mainstream politician: say whatever it takes to get into power and do whatever it takes to stay in power. Instead of defusing social tensions at home, the Tsipras government's inflammatory and provocative rhetoric fuels an increasingly polarized environment which breeds further hostility and confrontation. In Europe, it has also reopened old wounds dating back to the Second World War. Five-months of experimental game-theory and practice by the Tsipras government has yielded no benefits. It overplayed its hand, wasted precious time and inflicted enormous damage on Greece which is clearly worse off now than it was five months ago. In fact, Greece is paying an even higher price economically, politically and diplomatically. A simple cost-benefit analysis says it all. In 2015, Greece's economy is contracting by 0.5 per cent. In 2014, the Greek economy grew by over 3 per cent. Tsipras' bluffing with creditors contributed to the political uncertainty resulting in commercial paralysis and further economic stagnation. Greece's ever-shrinking private sector has been decimated. Furthermore, Tsipras' archaic state-centric solutions to Greece's current ills are actually the same original policies partly responsible for the status quo. With a population of ten million, Greece's current debt stands at over $350 billion which roughly leaves each Greek citizen with a bill of over $30,000. The numbers are simply staggering and unsustainable. Some forms of debt restructuring, relief, cancellation and reduction is inevitable at some future stage. However, before releasing any additional funds, creditors demand solid commitments and assurances of structural reform in line with other European Union member states. The Tsipras government has also managed a remarkably unusual achievement: uniting all of Europe - unfortunately, and unanimously, against Greece. Its approach risks further diplomatic isolation and reducing Greece to rogue status in Europe and beyond. It squandered whatever goodwill it had in Europe upon assuming power in January 2015. The antics of Greece's egomaniacal finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, burned bridges with peers. Tsipras' Jeckyll-and-Hyde approach with European leaders marked by diplomacy abroad and vilification at home galvanized his base but soured relations across the continent. In fact, some E.U. member states in central and eastern Europe have become more vociferous than Germany in criticizing Greece. At the recent G-7 summit, even U.S. President Barack Obama broke with protocol and actively called on the Tsipras government to get serious about negotiations. The head of the International Monetary Fund, Christine Lagarde, invoked the need for an adult presence in negotiations with Greece. On the geopolitical front, Tsipras constantly alludes to closer relations with Russia to the detriment of western interests. Implied is the threat to break with Europe and NATO, some form of alliance with Russia and further instability in the Balkans. This obviously causes concern for the U.S. and allies in light of renewed East-West, post-Cold War tensions and fallout of conflict in eastern Ukraine. The Russia card may have ideological appeal to Tsipras and far-leftist acolytes. However, greater dependence on Russia to the exclusion of the west provides no viable future to Greece's long-term national interests. Becoming a conduit for Russian energy supplies into Europe is best achieved as a part of Europe, not outside of it. Furthermore, East-West hostilities would only increase with Greece outside of Europe. For the past five months, the Tsipras government has presided over economic contraction, commercial paralysis, political polarization at home, diplomatic deadlock abroad and billions in withdrawals from Greek banks. Its inept posturing and reckless brinksmanship has backfired. Furthermore, it has failed to keep its anti-austerity campaign promises. Overall, this amounts to a vote of no confidence. Tsipras and company have simply proven unfit to govern. -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.
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Saturday will be a crucial day not just for Greece but for Europe as well, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday during a joint press conference with European Council President Donald Tusk, following the summit meeting in Brussels. “I am quite optimistic but not overoptimistic,” he said. Juncker also dismissed statements of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on being given ultimatums, adding that Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem will try to achieve a convergence of views on Saturday. “We do not work with ultimatums,” he clarified. The EU official noted that great progress has been achieved and the institutions have agreed on a common position. “Our Greek friends, for their own reasons, have some differentiations, but it is clear that negotiations will take place at the Eurogroup,” he added. On his side, Tusk said the pressure on Tsipras concerns the lack of time and does not come from the Eurogroup or other leaders. “It is true we are just three days away from Tuesday, which will be a crucial day,” he noted. It was also announced that Saturday’s Eurogroup has been moved to 3:00 pm (Athens time). (Source: ANA-MPA)
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Greece and its international creditors are tempting fate by repeatedly testing deadlines over deals to extend the Greek bailout program, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in an interview to Yahoo Finance editor-in-chief Andy Serwer on Friday. “The risk of an accident goes up the more times you have these [situations, and] everyone rushes to a deadline,” said Lew, who has been in regular touch with European leaders including Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. “I hope they can reach an agreement that prevents Greece from going through the deep pain that a breakdown would cause, and it doesn’t create risks to either the European or the global economy. This is not the time for a shock,” he added one day before the crucial Eurogroup. According to Lew, Greece has to move with some very painful adjustments, difficult fiscal policies and reforms, while its creditors should show flexibility. He also underlined the need of a conversation about some kind of restructuring of the Greek debt.
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Greece and the Eurozone; a tortuous affair
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The difficulties of overhauling the country's economy and keeping its government from insolvency are likely to remain, even if Greek and European ...
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Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras dismissed on Friday the latest proposal of the international creditors to extend the country's bailout, criticising their approach as unacceptable. Tsipras stressed that the founding principles of the EU were democracy, solidarity, equality and mutual respect rather than ultimatums and blackmail, the Greek Reporter informs. The Greek prime minister made it clear that his government will continue fighting in favour of these principles and on behalf of the Greek and European people. Following the conclusion of the European Council summit in Brussels, Tsipras is expected to return to Athens on Friday evening and hold an emergency cabinet meeting. The government should discuss the latest developments in the bailout negotiations ahead of the vital Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday. According to Greek sources, the document of proposals presented to Greece by the institutions was worse than a memorandum. Earlier on Friday, the creditors proposed to Greece a five-month extension of the current bailout programme until the end of November, which would release EUR 15.5 B of funding, EUR 1.8 B of which will be available immediately. Greece is in an urgent need to negotiate a further bailout from its creditors before the end of the month, so it can fulfill its debt repayment to the IMF, which falls due on June 30. In order for Greece to be granted the additional bailout of EUR 7.2 B, it will have to agree to carry out certain reforms, otherwise it risks defaulting and possibly leaving the eurozone.
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Heated arguments at a Brussels summit meeting exposed deep divisions between states already strained by the repeated failure of talks on the Greek debt crisis.
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Greece’s government is willing to implement a higher tonnage tax on its giant merchant shipping industry, meeting its international creditors half way in their demands that the country does away with lucrative tax breaks for shippers.
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Eurozone finance ministers to plan for economic breakdown and social unrest if Greece does not accept terms for five-month bailout extensionEurozone finance ministers and Greece’s creditors are to draw up plans for emergency measures to ringfence the country’s financial system unless the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, accepts the creditors’ terms for a five-month extension of Athens’ bailout on Saturday. Related: The Eurogroup meeting - the key weekend for Greece Related: Greek debt crisis: the 20 key moments Continue reading...
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Wall Street is tired of the Greece drama. And now, traders have come up with a new word to describe just how laboring following all of the "will they, won't they" headlines out really is: Gretigue. In an afternoon email on Friday, Rich Barry at the NYSE wrote that Greitgue is simply defined as, "Fatigue of all things Greek." On Friday, the latest news out of Greece is that whether or not Greece will be able to pay the IMF on June 30 now hinges on the results of a Saturday meeting of European finance ministers. That meeting, and this weekend, is seen as actually the last time Greece will be able to make a deal. And as Business Insider's Mike Bird reported on Friday, economists at no fewer than 6 Wall Street firms said that yes, this is really the last chance. Of course, we've heard that before. SEE ALSO: In one paragraph, here's what could happen — and what's at stake — as the never ending Greece negotiations finally wind down Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 6 scientifically proven features men find attractive in women
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Many people have grave doubts about the economic and political partnership that gave rise to the single currencyIn the past 10 days, there have been two demonstrations in Athens in support of Greece’s continued membership of the euro and one to urge prime minister Alexis Tsipras and finance minister Yannis Varoufakis not to make concessions in their negotiations with its creditors. Quite a few people have been to all three. This seemingly contradictory approach echoes Syriza’s rhetoric: one of its campaign slogans was “We will change Europe”. But it also reflects public opinion. Continue reading...
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Complex script has made country hard if not impossible to trade
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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accused international creditors of "blackmail" on Friday after euro zone partners warned Athens it had 48 hours to accept a cash-for-reform deal or plunge toward default next week.
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Faced with a choice of breaking a pledge to end austerity or walking away from a deal designed to avert default, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ...
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The chancellor talks up the self-employed, but their lives are precarious. The left must wake up to their plightIf booming levels of self-employment are an indicator of a thriving economy, then Greece is the powerhouse of Europe. Just under a third of the population of this austerity-ravaged nation are self-employed, more than double the EU average. Spain is another go-getters’ paradise, it seems: with half an entire generation out of work, self-employment among the young has surged. And then there’s Britain, where around 40% of the rise in jobs since 2010 is down to self-employment. If our rulers are to be believed, here is entrepreneurial flair and British dynamism in action, a vindication of the government’s “long-term economic plan”. But the plight of the self-employed is being ignored. It is time that the left began championing their cause. Related: Self-employment surge across UK hides real story behind upbeat job figures Continue reading...
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European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday he was "quite optimistic but not over-optimistic" of a deal, as Greek Prime ...
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Greece's fate, and possibly the fate of Europe's signature project on integration for the last 25 years, is about to be decided this weekend. Hopes of a ...
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BRUSSELS — As the Greek debt standoff headed into what could be its final weekend, simmering tensions between Germany and Athens came to a ...
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Greece's international creditors on Friday offered Athens a five-month, 12 billion euro ($13.4 billion) extension of its bailout program but said it must seal a deal this weekend to avoid an International Monetary Fund (IMF) default next week.
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EU, ECB and IMF ready to offer Athens €15.5bn in bailout funds – but Alexis Tsipras accuses lenders of blackmailGreece’s international creditors have said they are close to a deal that would unlock €15.5bn (£10.9bn) in rescue funds for the debt-laden country, despite signs of hardening political opposition in Athens as Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras accused lenders of “blackmail”. Related: Greece crisis: Tsipras rejects latest creditor proposal – live Related: Greece is being blackmailed. Exiting the eurozone is its way out | Costas Lapavitsas Continue reading...
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ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has called an urgent cabinet meeting for Friday evening to discuss talks with international creditors aimed at unlocking urgently needed bailout funds, one of his ministers said. "I am headed there now," the minister told Reuters. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos)
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By Adrian Croft BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Council President Donald Tusk urged European leaders to spend more on defence on Friday as deadly attacks in France, Tunisia and Kuwait drove home his point about dramatic changes to the security situation in Europe and its neighbourhood. Although their talks were overshadowed by the Greek debt crisis, Britain's attempt to renegotiate its membership and a row over migration, European Union leaders also discussed at a Brussels summit how to strengthen Europe's defence industry and how to make Europe a stronger player in the security arena.
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Greek leader rejects ‘ultimatum’ leaving two sides entrenched before last-ditch Brussels talks
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People in Greece have been looking to Brussels this week with a mixture of fear, hope and trepidation. The deadline for a deal is approaching, and nobody knows what might happen if one isn't reached.
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Talks with Greece continue on the offer that creditors put forward this week, which has some limited flexibility to adjust to Greek concerns, the official ...
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"Greece is certainly the focus. It's the main driver of investors not going into this weekend in any big way on a summer Friday ahead of what could be a ...
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Hello and welcome to another Squawk Box Live. Stay tuned for analysis on Greece, with European leaders aiming to reach an agreement on reform ...
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed the Greek government to accept a “generous” offer made by creditors, as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ...
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Greece's creditors offered to unlock aid of as much as 15.5 billion euros ($17.3 billion) for the indebted country, as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ...
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Years of economic crisis have forced Greeks to become more thrifty, giving a boost to repair shops and crafting stores.
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greece_health.jpg Home Page News Page The Greece crisis has lasted for more than five years and now the meeting with its creditors seems to be lasting for days. The country needs new bailouts in order to pay back its earlier debts. This week Greece might be reaching a decisive point: to stay in the Euro or exit. A look at its banking system highlights the troubled economy of Greece. The Greece crisis has lasted for more than five years and now the meeting with its creditors seems to be lasting for days. The country needs new bailouts in order to pay back its earlier debts. This week Greece might be reaching a decisive point: to stay in the Euro or exit. A look at its banking system highlights the troubled economy of Greece. The Greece crisis has lasted for more than five years and now the meeting with its creditors seems to be lasting for days. The country needs new bailouts in order to pay back its earlier debts. This week Greece might be reaching a decisive point: to stay in the Euro or exit. A look at its banking system highlights the troubled economy of Greece. read more
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Investors also await the annual tweaks to the makeup of Russell stock indexes that may produce a rush of transactions worth over $40 bn in the final moments of trading on Friday
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