Greece Capitulates: Tsipras Crosses “Red Line”, Will Accept Bailout Extension

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.

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.