We’ve long said that negotiations between Greece and its creditors are more a matter of politics than they are a matter of economics or finance.
From the troika’s perspective, breaking Greece and forcing PM Alexis Tsipras to concede to pension cuts and a VAT hike is paramount, and not necessarily because anyone believes these measures will put the perpetually indebted periphery country on a sustainable fiscal path, but because of the message such concessions would send to Syriza sympathizers in Spain and Portugal. In short, the troika cannot set a precedent of allowing debtor nations to obtain austerity concessions by threatening to expose the euro as dissoluble. Continue reading
Tag Archives: pension cuts
EU preparing for ‘state of emergency’ after Greek talks collapse
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrives at his office in Maximos Mansion for a governmental council in Athens June 15, 2015. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis
ATHENS/BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s EU commissioner said on Monday it was time to prepare for a “state of emergency” after talks collapsed at the weekend to rescue Greece from default and ejection from the euro.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras ignored a litany of pleas from European leaders to act fast and instead blamed creditors for the collapse in aid-for-austerity talks, the biggest setback yet in long-running talks to secure more aid for Greece.
Athens now has just two weeks to find a way out of the impasse before it faces a 1.6 billion euro bill due to the International Monetary Fund, potentially leaving it out of cash, unable to borrow and cast out of the single currency. Continue reading