Greece tragedy - commentary - 07/12/2015

GREECE TO BE CUT OFF FROM BRICS FUNDING

I have not seen this confirmed anywhere but it is probably true. If it is true will Tsipras - who is currently capitulating to every demand made of him - still have any one left defending him?

As for the current European Council discussion, they are no longer a negotiation between Greece and its creditors. They are a quarrel between Germany and France. Greece is a bystander.

It goes without saying that the gas pipeline project with Russia is finished.

---Alexander Mercouris

Quarantine Greece? EU is placing terms into new loan proposal that will cut Greece off from BRICS financing

Troika creditors are embedding terms into the new loan proposal that will prohibit Greece from seeking any financial assistance from third parties…i.e. Russia and the BRICS.

By Alexrpt

Red Pill Times,

12 July, 2015

Its not enough that the Eurogroup will make sure Greece carries out harsh austerity and cuts in just about every part of its economy, while raising taxes just about everywhere and for everyone…but any chance of Greece looking for additional financing and investment from the powerhouse BRICS nations will also be strictly prohibited under the new deal being hashed out in Brussels.

Now that Merkel and Schäuble have Greece right where they want it, it’s time to permanently break any hopes and dreams Greece had of growth and opportunity that can be found in the Eurasian new silk road.

Germany wants to squash any possible pivot, or though of a pivot, that Greece may have hoped and dreamt of with Russia and China.

Forget Greek Stream, forget the AIIB and the BRCIS development bank. Forget the SCO…Greece will be prohibited to play with Russia and China. If, and after, the new debt deal is signed with the Troika, consider Greece under quarantine.

Greek site, Defencenet.gr reports…

Creditors are not only making sure to enforce “harsh” austerity, which will make the previous debt deals look like kid’s play, but embedded within the terms of the new loan agreement, creditors will prohibit Greece from seeking any financial assistance from third parties…i.e. Russia and the BRICS.

Keep in mind that the 70 billion euro package [now closer to 100 billion euros] which Europe is putting together is not real economic help for Greece…as nearly all of the money loaned will immediately be used to pay off debt, with not one cent being used to help the Greek economy grow.

This leaves the natural gas pipeline [Turk Stream to Greek Stream] as the only visible source of investment into the Greek economy…and that too is under the condition that the EU approves the plan (it won’t).

References:

http://www.defencenet.gr/

Too late?

Russia Plans to Support Greece With Direct Energy Deliveries

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said that an agreement may be worked out in the next few weeks.

Russia is looking into the possibility of delivering energy to Greece directly in order to renew the crisis-hit country’s economy, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Sunday.

“The Russian Federation plans to support the renewal of the Greek economy by expanding its cooperation in the energy sector. We are studying the possibility of organizing direct deliveries of energy to the Greek government to begin in the near future,” Novak told journalists in Moscow.

The minister said that an agreement may be worked out in the next few weeks.

Why Russia's Gas Pipeline Deal With Greece Is Likely to Be Stillborn - Alexander Mercouris

A Greek government that remains committed to the EU is not united behind a deal with Gazprom that is far more modest than the one offered in March and April

Those who are willing to sell their country off

Via electronic translation

TO DELIVER THE GOVERNANCE OF THE COUNTRY, IN BRUSSELS FOR 5 YEARS PROPOSED BY GEORGE PAPANDREOU

ΝΑ ΠΑΡΑΔΏΣΟΥΜΕ ΤΗΝ ΔΙΑΚΥΒΈΡΝΗΣΗ ΤΗΣ ΧΏΡΑΣ ΣΤΙΣ ΒΡΥΞΈΛΛΕΣ ΓΙΑ 5 ΧΡΌΝΙΑ ΠΡΟΤΕΊΝΕΙ Ο ΓΙΏΡΓΟΣ ΠΑΠΑΝΔΡΈΟΥ

By Alexrpt

Real Bomb.gr,

12 July, 2015

The Movement to Change George Papandreou proposes an adjustment period of 5 years, during which time the governance and administration of the Hellenic Republic will be carried out centrally from Brussels, in the European Commission and the european Parliament, in order to make the necessary reforms and αναδιοργάνωσει of the state and handed over to us in a few years a modern, european state.

According to the announcement "Will be made so Greece is a federated region of the European Union, the standards of countries such as the USA (Washington D.C.), Australia (Canberra) and many other successful examples around the world. Our opinions were filed in the current congress of the Party of European Socialists and received a warm welcome from the leaders and particularly by mr Martin Schulz. Stand by for further developments."

Schultz: we're Not too strict with the Greeks

"There are some tough and some of the most cooperative countries in the subject of Greece. Some countries understand the situation in Greece. The only sure thing is that most of the eurozone countries want to remain in the euro for Greece, but the problem is that the options of the program. I can't say that we are too strict with the Greeks. Tonight, I need to find a formula", - stressed the head of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, to a question from a journalist on the attitudes of Europeans towards Greece.

From Pepe Escobar

THE EU LAUNCHES "EXTENSIVE MENTAL WATERBOARDING"

It's a go - and invented by Merkel and Hollande. Revealed by an unidentified Euro-bureaucrat a few minutes ago in Brussels. Applied by Merkel and Hollande on Tsipras.

Dick Cheney will be receiving royalties.

The Man Who Refused to Play by the Rules: the Real Sins of Varoufakis

Chris Bickerton

Counterpunch,

10 July, 2015

Why have negotiations between Greece and creditors collapsed, to a point of virtual no return, when both sides have repeatedly said they want the same thing: for Greece to stay in the euro?

The conventional wisdom is that the policy gap between the two sides was simply too great. Elected in January, the Syriza-led government sought to reverse years of austerity under the slogan of no more bailouts. Its flamboyant finance minister, Yannis Varoufakis (who has since stood down), spoke of an economic transformation in Greece, taking on the long-standing power of the country’s oligarchs. His renegotiation with the Troika was part of this broader agenda.

Facing Greece was a German-led bloc committed to more austerity and structural reforms. Within this bloc were countries — Ireland, Portugal — that had turned to the EU for their own bailouts and had undertaken the cuts and reforms asked of them. They were implacable in their belief that Greece should do the same.

But this view cannot explain why both sides came as close as they did. The often-forgotten truth of the last few weeks is that Greece and the Troika very nearly secured a deal. From the outset, the policy differences between them have been minor, largely because of Syriza’s moderate demands.

In early 2015, there was a lot of sympathy — including from the IMF — for Greek debt relief. When Varoufakis argued that a crisis of insolvency should not be confused with a liquidity crisis, he was listened to. Even in the very final stages of the negotiations, the remaining differences were small in what was multi-billion euro loan agreement. In the recent referendum, heavyweight economic commentators like Joseph Stiglitz and Paul Krugman argued for a ‘no’, saying the intellectual case for a revised bailout agreement and debt relief was solid.

The negotiations didn’t break down because of an unbridgeable gap between the North and South; creditors and debtors; the German ‘Ordoliberalism’ of Schäuble and Djisselbloem and Greek-style Marxism of Varoufakis and Tsipras. This gap has never existed. They broke down because Varoufakis repeatedly breached the Eurogroup’s etiquette. In doing so, he challenged the very foundations of the eurozone’s mode of governance.

The Eurogroup is not a democratic institution. Though it is made up of finance ministers from democratically elected governments, these ministers meet as individuals who are there on the assumption that they will build consensus, make compromises, and reach agreements amongst themselves.

The etiquette of the Eurogroup is that one leaves one’s national interests at the door. Relations are more personal than political. Ideologies and grand statements of political doctrine have no place in the body’s deliberations. If a minister is constrained because of a difficult situation at home, this is treated as an understandable — if unfortunate — problem that needs to be solved. Ministers find in the Eurogroup a source of energy and support for taking on their own domestic populations. It is also a private club of sorts, where what goes on inside remains secret. Ministers attending the Eurogroup are transformed from politicians representing interests into experts seeking solutions to common problems.

The hostility towards Varoufakis stems from his breaking of all of these rules. He refused to play the Eurogroup game. It’s not really about riding a motorbike, wearing combat trousers and being a celebrity academic-blogger — though his charisma and popularity probably created jealousies amongst the other (colourless and tie-wearing) politicians.

At the heart of the matter is how Varoufakis presented his demands. Thinking of himself as a representative of the Greek people, he made his wishes public, and when in the Eurogroup, he maintained the same stance — changes in views could not be informally agreed around a table but had to be taken back to Athens and argued for, in cabinet and with the Syriza party.

It was this breach of etiquette that made agreement impossible. Creative solutions can usually be found in the EU. It is, after all, a machine built on compromise. But when someone violates the very rules of the game, nothing can be done. Varoufakis exposed the Eurogroup as a private club where relations between individuals matter more than relations between the populations that are formerly being represented around the table. For that, he — and Greece — must now be punished.

This article appears in the excellent Le Monde Diplomatique, whose English language edition can be found at mondediplo.com. This full text appears by agreement with Le Monde Diplomatique. CounterPunch features two or three articles from LMD every month.

Chris Bickerton is a lecturer in politics at the University of Cambridge. He blogs at The Current Moment.