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Greece
won’t cooperate with ‘troika,’ rejects aid extension
RT,
30
January, 2015
The
new left-wing Greek government has said that it will not cooperate
with the ‘troika’ of international lenders, and does not plan to
seek an extension for its aid package which is set to expire at the
end of February.
Without
the aid, Greek banks could face being shut off from European Central
Bank funding.
Rejecting
cooperation with the 'troika' from the EU and IMF, Greek Finance
Minister Yanis Varoufakis said he would rather negotiate the debt in
direct talks with eurozone leaders.
“This
position enabled us to win the trust of the Greek people,”
Varoufakis said Friday during a joint press conference with Jeroen
Dijsselbloem, head of the eurozone finance ministers’ group.
“Our
first action as a government will not be to reject the rationale of
questioning this program through a request to extend it,”
Varoufakis said. “We
respect institutions but we don’t plan to cooperate with that
committee.”
The
meeting between Varoufakis and Dijsselbloem is to lay the groundwork
for visits by newly-elected Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and the
finance minister to London, Paris, and Rome next week. The new Greek
leadership has voiced its intention to attempt to loosen the terms of
the massive €240 billion (US$271 billion) bailout.
bailout.
Am I sending a "more moderate message"?http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/30/business/international/greeces-feisty-finance-minister-tries-a-more-moderate-message.html?mabReward=A4&action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=Recommendation&src=rechp&WT.nav=RecEngine … Not really. I was always emmiting 'modest proposals' http://yanisvaroufakis.eu/euro-crisis/modest-proposal/ …
The
new government has fueled panic among creditors and investors by
promising to freeze privatizations and re-hire state workers, in
addition to rolling back other reforms that were mandated by the
bailout.
Varoufakis
said he had told Dijsselbloem that although Athens plans to make the
economy more competitive and balance its budgets, the country refuses
to accept deflation and non-viable debt.
Dijsselbloem,
meanwhile, warned Greece against taking unilateral measures and
cautioned the new finance minister against rolling back progress.
Germany,
Greece’s biggest lender, has said it will not consider writing off
the country’s debt. Berlin expects Greece to implement structural
reform in exchange for support.
German
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said Berlin is not willing to
radically renegotiate current agreements.
“We’re
prepared for any discussions at any time but the basis can’t be
changed,” he
said. “Beyond
that, it is hard to blackmail us.”
Yanis Varoufakis does not allow the BBC to get away with distorting his words
See Yanis Varoufakis' proposal of 2013 HERE
Yanis Varoufakis does not allow the BBC to get away with distorting his words
See Yanis Varoufakis' proposal of 2013 HERE
SOME
"EUROPEAN BANKS" ABOUT TO "GO BROKE"!
Finance
Minister Yanis Varoufakis said Greece won’t seek an extension of
its bailout agreement, setting the government on course to enter
March without a financial backstop for the first time in 5 years..
Greece
won’t engage with officials from the troika of official creditors
who have been policing the conditions of its rescue since 2010. It’s
five-day-old government wants a new deal with the European Union that
allows for more spending, Varoufakis said at a joint press conference
with Eurogroup Chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem in Athens, Friday..
“We
don’t plan to cooperate with that committee,” Varoufakis said..
“The
Greek state has a future, but what we won’t accept has a future is
the self-perpetuating crisis of deflation and unsustainable debt”..
The
standoff could see Greek banks effectively excluded from European
Central Bank liquidity operations and the government with no source
of funding, having rejected EU aid while still shut out of
international markets..
“These
people are not bluffing,” Theodore Pelagidis, a senior fellow at
the Brookings Institution, said by phone. “There is no way that
Greece will make it through February. The situation will be get worse
every day, and at the forefront of the drama will be the country’s
banks”..
Greek
bonds tumbled, with the yield on three-year government debt rising
148 basis points to 18.76 percent at 5:43 p.m. in Athens. The stock
market reversed earlier gains to close 1.6 percent lower..
Prime
Minister Alexis Tsipras briefed Dijsselbloem for about half an hour
before the Dutch minister met Varoufakis. The Greek government wants
a new plan to focus on combating corruption and boosting public
investment instead of cutting the deficit..
While
Varoufakis said he intends to balance the budget, the proposal hinges
on the euro area and the European Central Bank agreeing to write down
Greece’s public debt, a suggestion that has been met with
skepticism by officials across the rest of Europe..
“The
program has an extension which runs out at the end of February and we
will decide before that time what happens next,” Dijsselbloem said.
Euro area governments are “committed to providing support for
Greece during the life of the program and beyond until it has
regained market access, provided Greece fully complies with the
requirements and the objectives of the program,” he dded..
A
German official earlier on Friday said Tsipras is making unrealistic
demands and will end up without a financial backstop unless he honors
his country’s commitments to its official credдtors..
German
Finance Ministry Spokesman Martin Jaeger said Greece’s demand for a
writedown is “outside reality” and the financial lifeline that
has kept the country afloat since 2010 will expire next month unless
Tsipras shows a “clear willingness” to meet the country’s
existing agreements..
“The
announcements from Athens are so far going in the opposite
direction,” Jaeger told reporters in Berlin...
Russia
might bailout Greece – finance minister
Greece
hasn’t outright asked Russia for a loan, but Russian Finance
Minister Anton Siluanov said Moscow wouldn't rule it out. His
statement comes days after Greece openly opposed further economic
sanctions against Russia.
RT,
29
January, 2015
Greece
hasn’t outright asked Russia for a loan, but Russian Finance
Minister Anton Siluanov said Moscow wouldn't rule it out. His
statement comes days after Greece openly opposed further economic
sanctions against Russia.
"Well,
we can imagine any situation, so if such [a] petition is submitted to
the Russian government, we will definitely consider it, but we will
take into account all the factors of our bilateral relationships
between Russia and Greece, so that is all I can say. If it is
submitted we will consider it," Siluanov
told CNBC in an interview in
Moscow on Thursday.
The
new left-wing Syriza government in Greece won a majority at last
Sunday’s election on the promise to renegotiate the country’s €317
billion debt and
end austerity.
Greece
needs to negotiate with EU policymakers by February 28 in order to
receive the next tranche of bailout funds. If Athens doesn’t get
the money it will have difficulty servicing its debt. Two bailouts
were paid in 2010 and 2014 totaling €240 billion.
The
new government was quick to show support for Moscow, and has openly
called for an end to Russian sanctions, and may veto any future
sanctions.
Siluanov
applauded Greece’s stance on sanctions
as “pragmatic” and “economically
justified.”
On
Thursday the European Commission decided to extend sanctions against
Russia through September 2015, but did not add any broader economic
measures. A spokesperson for the new PM Alexis Tsipras said Greece
didn’t approve of any further restrictive measures.
Between announcing it doesn’t intend to pay off its €317 billion debt in full and blocking Russia sanctions, Greece has emerged as a wild card among the 29 countries of the EU.
Russia-Greece deals
Russia
gave Greece a very valuable card to play in the EU when
it announced its
South Stream pipeline will be re-routed through Turkey, with a gas
hub expected to be built on the border between Turkey and Greece.
Russian
investors have been watching Greece closely since the economy went
bust in the 2008 credit crisis, which sent it looking for financial
assistance from the EU to pay its creditors.
The
crisis, as well as the EU bailout policy, has sent the economy into a
six-year recession, forcing the government to dismantle and privatize
state assets to meet austerity targets under its EU bailout plan.
State-owned
Russian Railways and Gazprom have been eyeing stakes in Greek assets.
Russian Railways has held talks with TrainOSE, Greece’s state-owned
passenger and cargo rail operator. In 2013, Gazprom made a €900
million bid for Greece’s state gas company DEPA, but backed out of
negotiations at the last minute, citing concerns over the company’s
financial stability.
Russian
investment in Greek railways is estimated at up to $3 billion per
year.
Traditionally,
the two countries have very strong tourist ties, with more than 1
million Russians visiting Greece each year. This number has been
trimmed since the ruble crisis and slowed growth have forced many
Russian to forgo foreign travel.
Greece
is home to a robust Russian diaspora - nearly 300,000 Russian
nationals live 1,400 miles south of Moscow, largely a result of
emigration
This is from the Guardian representing the western liberal press (not in the headlines).
Of Siluanov's proposal to bail out Greece, not a sign in the western media
Yanis
Varoufakis says new government will refuse to engage with auditors
from the EU, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary
Fund
Greek
Bond Yields Surge Above 19% After EU Talks
Following
finance minister Varoufakis' insistence that Greece will not accept
more debt (or what EU calls a "bailout") and talks with the
Eurogroup chief end, Greek bond yields have surged (and prices
dropped) with 3Y
GGBs back over 19% -
the highest since the crisis. Greek bank stocks - after yesterday's
exuberant penny stock squeeze - are falling once again.
Greek
bonds are plunging...
Greek
bank stocks have faded fast post-Troika meeting...
Charts:Bloomberg
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