Lithuania hands over control of EU helm to Greece in choppy waters

KathimeriniLithuania hands over control of EU helm to Greece in choppy watersKathimeriniLithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite spent two days in Athens this week as her country prepares to hand the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union over to Greece. Athens has a busy agenda from January as its EU commitments include ...

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Death, taxes and deposits guaranteed?

by  Maria Kagkelidou

Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia has issued a statement to clarify his reply to a Greek MEP that when banks are being granted restructuring aid, “if a Member State decides to apply additional burden-sharing measures [to those outlined in EU regulations], it would be a sovereign decision of that Member State.” But the clarifications issued by the Commissioner’s office appear to refer to a 2010 Directive that does not make explicit provisions for the possibility of bail-ins such as that applied in Cyprus in Spring 2013. 

After Almunia’s assurances that “EU state aid rules do not require any contribution whatsoever from bank deposits” Nikos Hountis, MEP for Greece’ leftist SYRIZA main opposition  notwithstanding, is calling upon that the Commissioner to change his reply to the parliamentary question Hountis filed, the Greek press reports. 

“Burden sharing obligations under EU state aid rules relate exclusively to shareholders and junior bond holders,” Antoine Colombani, Almunia’s spokesman said in a press release. 

Concerning insured deposits Colombani says that the proposal on Bank Recovery and Resolution (BRRD), which is expected to come into force in 2016, “stipulates explicitly that so-called covered deposits, i.e. deposits below €100 000 guaranteed by Deposit Guarantee Schemes (DGS), are excluded from the bail-in tool (Article 38). Therefore, depositors having such deposits would never bear any losses.” 

Until the BBRD comes into force, Colombani says that the losses would be borne by the Deposit Guarantee Schemes (DGS) - up to the amount of covered deposits. 

“It is also impossible to bail-in covered deposits before the entry into force of the BRR Directive since it would be an infringement of the existing DGS Directive that ensures protection of deposits up to €100 000 from end-2010 onwards in all Member States (Article 7 of the DGS Directive).” the statement concluded.

But Hountis, who was today accompanying SYRIZA head Alexis Tsipras during his visit in Brussels and unavailable for comment,  has written back to Almunia saying that he is asking him “if [Almunia] desire, to change the reply you gave me… I remind you that among others your official reply says that if a Member State decides to apply additional burden-sharing measures, it would be a sovereign decision of that Member State, which is the issue of essence.”

Colombani refers to the Directive on Deposit Guarantee Schemes passed in 2010 - before the concept of bail-ins took hold during the Spring 2013 Cyprus bailout. 

Article 7 of the Directive, which refers to the Deposit Guarantee Schemes, mainly deals with how depositors get access to their money in case this is unavailable in their bank account. Article 2 defines unavailable as “a deposit that is due and payable but has not been paid by a credit institution under the legal and contractual conditions applicable thereto” i.e. when a government or court decides the deposit is no longer available. 

The directive appears to make no explicit provision for “additional burden-sharing measures” applied by member states. 

You can read the entire Deposit Guarantee Directive - including the changes that were made to it until the EU institutions settled upon a final text and their justifications- here.

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Insane Photo Of A Drinking Game Got A Lehigh University Fraternity Suspended

Lehigh University has suspended its Chi Phi fraternity chapter after a picture of an insane set-up for a drinking game was posted online, according to Total Frat Move.

TFM writes that "worst part about this is that it seems pretty clear that a Chi Phi took and posted the picture." It appears that once the photo went online, the university discovered allegations that the fraternity violated several policies — including providing alcohol to minors.

According to the blog Lehigh Greeks:

As of today, December 11, 2013 all activities of the Chi Phi Fraternity at Lehigh University have been suspended immediately. This suspension comes pending the investigation of allegations of University policy violations by the chapter on the night of Friday, December 6, 2013 including providing alcohol to minors, drinking games, hosting an unregistered social event, and irresponsible distribution of alcohol. Additionally, the chapter will be facing Interfraternity Council recruitment violations for allegations of potential new members being present at the facility where alcohol was present the night of December 6. 

Here's the full picture, via imgur:

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RMH Greek Division Gala A Success

NEW YORK – Since 1979 more than 10,000 Greek children and their families found Ronald McDonald House (RMH) to be a home away from home while they underwent the trials and tribulations of pediatric cancer treatment. On December 10 at the famed New York Athletic Club, friends of the Greek Division of RMH gathered for […]

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Greek Debtor List Swells Fast

ATHENS – As Greece has moved to freeze and seize bank accounts of debtors who can’t pay their taxes during a crushing economic crisis in which many can’t afford the cost-of-living because of big pay cuts, tax hikes and slashed pensions, the problem is just getting worse, with the government saying that 101,425 more joined […]

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Venizelos Says Troika Deal Needed Now

ATHENS – As talks continue to drag on between Greece and its international lenders over the size of a hole in the 2014 budget and long-delayed reforms that are holding up release of a one billion euro ($1.37 billion) installment, Deputy Prime Minister Evangelos Venizelos pushed for a quick agreement. Venizelos, the PASOK Socialist leader […]

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Bargain Greek Wine under $10! P. Dimitropoulos & Co. “Sant’ Or,” 2012

By Lauren Loeffler This is an easy drinking, organic red wine for well under $10. If this is something that piques your fancy, read on. This bottling is made from the Agiorgitiko varietal, the most widely planted varietal in Greece. This varietal is often blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to make table wines, and typically has […]

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