The big fat Greek blame game - page 2

 

Juncker - the man that made Luxemburg a tax evasion haven, and was awarded for that with the presidency of EU commission, can not help himself : he is barking what his bosses told him to bark

 
whisperer:
Juncker - the man that made Luxemburg a tax evasion haven, and was awarded for that with the presidency of EU commission, can not help himself : he is barking what his bosses told him to bark

If Juncker was one of a kind, it would nt be so bad. But Brussels is full of his clones

 

Merkel: Greece unilaterally abandoned successful talks

Merkel speaks to the Bundestag

  • Greece not making IMF payment was the end of the aid program
  • Basis for second program has ended
  • There will be no negotiation before the referendum
  • Greece can't cause an economic catastrophe in Europe
  • Aid sums mentioned are not insurmountable
  • The door remains open to Greece
  • Tough days lie ahead for Greek people
  • That's pretty much inline with Schaeuble and will maybe calm some German nerves that they were at odds with each other. Either that or they were playing the good cop, bad cop routine

    And there's more;

  • Germany won't compromise at all costs
  • IMF would have to be part of any further talks
  • This is not about €1.5bn or €2bn, or whatever it is
  • Europe's future is not at stake

And she's done

 

EU's Dijsselbloem says institutional proposals for Greece were "cut to pieces" by Gre

Dizzy Dijjy rascal on the wires

  • Greek No vote will not lead to improved negotiating position
  • referendum is on whether Greeks are prepared to accept painful austerity
  • debt relief promise could return after referendum but unsure
  • Dijjy in punchy mode

  • hard to bridge "fundamental differences between Greece and EU

Serious face time

 

Varoufakis accuses Greek creditors of "terrorism"

Greek fin min pulling no punches in an interview with Spanish newspaper EL MundoReuters reporting

"What they are doing with Greece has a name: terrorism"

"Why have they forced us to close the banks? To frighten people. And when it's about spreading terror, that is known as terrorism"

  • a Yes vote for bailout terms would threaten democracy because fear would have won
  • if the country votes No then PM Tsipras will go to Brussels and reach an agreement
  • Greek banks will re-open by Tuesday regardless of Yes or No vote
  • I will resign if country votes Yes
  • a trillion euros will be lost if Greece is allowed to crash

He said an agreement would be reached even on a No vote because failing to agree would be too costly for both sides

" Because there's too much at stake, as much for Greece as for Europe. I'm sure. If Greece crashes, a trillion euros ( the equivalent of Spain's GDP) will be lost. It's too much mioney and I don't believe Europe could allow it."

The gloves are most certainly off now but the finger pointing continues

 

Hardliners in Greece and Germany trying to derail deal

Lawmakers in Athens and Berlin pushing back

Five members of Tsipras' party have pledge to fight the Greek proposal., saying they prefer the drachma to austerity.

Meanwhile, senior German conservative lawmaker Hans-Peter Friedrich told Reuters there is no basis for further negotiations in the latest Greek proposal. He said Greece needs a new start with its own currency.

Look for similar headlines to continue but I suspect it's only fearmongering. Syriza has the votes to pass the bailout with help from the opposition and Merkel will get a deal if she wants one. At the moment, it's clear that markets are now pricing in a high probability of a deal.

The big question is: Will the optimism last?

source

 

Greek crisis: Various disagreements within Europe – chances for deal look low

After talks on Saturday broke up, the Eurogroup meetings are going on for a second day and so far, a lot of confrontations are surfacing. An agreement does not seem to be in sight. It seems that Germany has overplayed its hand at the moment. The EU Summit has been cancelled, allowing for euro-zone leaders more time to discuss the issues.

At the moment, optimism is low and stock futures already point to lower ground.. But doesn’t Europe always does the right thing at the last minute? Here are the latest updates on Schäuble’s confrontations:

  • On trust: The head of the Eurogroup Dijesselbloem said there is a problem of trust with Greece. However, we also learned that German finance minister Woflgang Schäuble was striving to push Greece out. So who isn’t negotiating with good will?
  • With France on tying to mediate: According to reports, France tried to mediate and help Greece make proposals that will be approved. French president Hollande also said Greece’s proposals are credible, and that gave EUR/USD a boost on Friday. Now we hear that Merkel is frustrated with the French role.
  • With Italy on Greek proposals: Italy’s Prime Minister Renzi will reportedly tell Germany to accept the Greek proposals (which consist of a total surrender in terms of austerity, but also include debt restructuring). This comes as some euro-zone ministers demand more from Greece. Do you they want Greece to promise things it will be unable to implement?
  • Even with the ECB: President Mario Draghi remained quiet during this period. He will speak anyway in the Bank’s rate decision on Thursday. In the meantime, he was snuffed by Schäuble, who said “don’t talk to me like a fool”. This happened after Schäuble said (once again) that a debt deal is not in the rulebook and Draghi reminded him that it already happened. The ECB holds the real keys to a Grexit.

On the upside, negotiations are still going on, and as aforementioned, a deal is always within reach. Given the optimism on Friday, a deal is likely priced in, so a failure would lead to another big gap lower on EUR/USD, while a deal would likely lead to a short-lived and limited rally.

source

 

Tempers flare at eurogroup meeting on Greece; Draghi and Schaeuble square off

The eurogroup chairman prematurely ended meetings at midnight on Saturday as tempers flared.

"It was crazy, a kindergarten," said a Reuters source familiar with the arguments in the Eurogroup among increasingly weary finance ministers. "Bad emotions have completely taken over."

The fighting wasn't primarily between Greece and others but among eurozone finance ministers and leaders.

The exchange that ended the meeting was between Draghi and Schaeuble. according to Reuters.

"Another official close to the talks said the adjournment was prompted by a particularly heated exchange - on Greece's ability to service its debts - between European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.

In response to Draghi, one participant quoted Schaeuble as saying: 'I'm not stupid.'"

Various reports suggest Schaeuble is attempting to push Greece out while France leads a faction to keep them in.

At the moment, it looks as though a deal before markets open is highly unlikely. If and when it comes, it will be an ultimatum to the Greek government telling them to pass legislation straight away before final talks continue.

source

 

Draghi will have a lot to explain regarding the Greek crisis

 

Tsipras Sells Betrayal of His Campaign Promises to Greece

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, who came to office six months ago pledging to end austerity and restore “dignity” to the Greek people, now plans to sell an onerous bailout deal at home by arguing it could have been much worse.

That was the message Tsipras delivered Monday morning in Brussels after all-night talks with European leaders. They resulted in plans for large-scale asset sales, tax hikes and spending cuts, many of which must be approved by parliament right away. The agreement, he said, would avert “a collapse of the financial system” and, most importantly, keep Greece in the euro, which the premier calls his No. 1 goal.

Tsipras is seeking to implement measures even harsher than those rejected by Greek voters in the July 5 referendum on austerity -- which he himself called after the previous round of discussions. To succeed, he may need to begin by shoring up his own party ranks.

“A government reshuffle is in the cards, probably with Tsipras as prime minister and support from opposition parties,” said George Pagoulatos, a professor of European politics and economy at the Athens University of Economics and Business. More than 30 members of parliament from the left wing of Syriza could abandon him, Pagoulatos said.

The plan, agreed to by Greece and the leaders of the 18 other euro countries, requires a level of austerity that Tsipras’s Coalition of the Radical Left, or Syriza, will find difficult to swallow.

Political Earthquake

Syriza’s landslide electoral victory represented a political earthquake in Greece, sending relations with European partners into disarray and serving as an inspiration to other left-wing parties across Europe.

On election night in late January, Tsipras told cheering crowds in central Athens that “continued kowtowing” to creditors would end. The landslide victory swept aside New Democracy, Greece’s traditional center-right party, which had urged voters to stay the course with existing bailout arrangements.

“A government reshuffle is in the cards, probably with Tsipras as prime minister and support from opposition parties”

In exchange for aid, Syriza’s leader is now endorsing pension reductions, sales tax increases and “quasi-automatic spending cuts” in the event that Greece’s government budget fails to hit surplus targets.

“We took the responsibility of the decision to avert the most extreme plans of the most extreme conservative forces in the European Union,” Tsipras said after 17 hours of meetings. “We averted the plan to cause a credit crunch and the collapse of the financial system, a plan which had been prepared in great detail.”

Asset Sales

Monday’s deal also envisions as much as 50 billion euros in sales or other monetization of state assets, to be used partly to pay off debt and partly to pay back funds for the recapitalization of banks. Greek lenders have been shut for more than two weeks to stem withdrawals.

Syriza currently has 149 seats in the 300-seat legislature and governs with the support of the Independent Greeks party, with 13 seats. Its leader on Sunday tweeted that “enough was enough” in bailout talks, raising the prospect of a departure from the ruling coalition.

read more

Reason: