German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble
Posted on 06/24/2012 10:03:46 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
Germany has told Greece to stop asking for more help and get on with implementing the reforms it has already promised as tensions mount before this week’s crucial summit of European Union leaders.
German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble
In unusually blunt remarks, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said: “The most important task facing new prime minister [Antonis] Samaras is to enact the programme agreed upon quickly and without further delay instead of asking how much more others can do for Greece.”
His comments highlight Germany’s growing impatience with the eurozone’s problem nations in what is shaping up to be another significant week for the single currency bloc.
A formal request from Spain for up to €100bn (£80bn) of emergency funding for its banks is expected on Monday, while the week ends with a two-day summit in Brussels where German chancellor Angela Merkel is again expected to dig in her heels over the eurobonds championed by France’s new president, Francois Hollande. Such bonds would mutualise the debts of the 17 eurozone nations, effectively leaving Germany on the hook for more spendthrift members.
Greece’s new three-party coalition government took charge on Thursday, vowing to renegotiate the terms of its latest €130bn bail-out. It wants a two-year extension to the 2014 deadline for it to cut its budget deficit to 2.1pc of GDP from 9.3pc in 2011. Such delay would, however, require up to €20bn more foreign funding.
Mr Schaeuble added: “Greece hasn’t tried enough so far, that has to be said quite clearly… no one on Earth who has followed this issue would think that Greece has fulfilled what it has promised.”
Owing to ill-health, Greece’s new leaders will not be at the Brussels summit to hear that message personally. Mr Samaras underwent eye surgery on
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Attention socialist lazy parasites:
Game over.
Seems like Germany is paying for all these freeloaders (Portugal, Spain, Greece). So what does Germany get out of the Euro? What is the benefit?
Makes me want to go out and buy a Porsche, but I can only afford a used VW.
The Obama Economic record is the true Greek Tragedy.
“The Obama Economic record is the true Greek Tragedy.” Is that one of those double entendeds?
The Euro gives Germany a good export currency, which is why Germany is a strong exporter.
It’s been noted by both pro and anti Euro folks that if Germany was using the old DM (Deutschmark), that currency would generally tend to be very strong. While it is true that the Germans could devalue the DM, that would run the risk of currency inflation.
Mention inflation to Germans, and you’ll get the same kind of reaction that you’d get giving the housecat a bath in the sink. The hyperinflationary episode they experienced during the Weimar Republic era left a deep and profound impression on the Germans, and they’ll never forget it.
When I was in Greece for the first time, back in the 1970s, more Greeks spoke German than English. Maybe they can still remember how.
THAT particular episode in German history (and by association, world history) is an increasingly terrifying nightmare, the more you know about it. It SHOULD be a very indelible lesson and an everlasting incentive to fiscal responsibility (both for individuals and for nations).
However, without facts or proper instruction, it is impossible for us to benefit from THEIR very bitter experience...so the lesson is lost on succeeding generations!
They could probably get their attention if they start playing more of these on public stations: Best German Marches
Great tag line.
The Euro gives Germany a good export currency, which is why Germany is a strong exporter.Germany was also a strong exporter when it still had the DM. What’s more, since the Euro has been introduced, the part of Germany’s exports that goes into the Euro zone has shrunk, not grown.It’s been noted by both pro and anti Euro folks that if Germany was using the old DM (Deutschmark), that currency would generally tend to be very strong.
The fact is that Germany does not need the Euro at all. The Euro was a ploy: When politicians introduced it, they knew very well that it would lead to problems. They were hoping that the problems would force EU countries to create a political union, a “United States of Europe.” They knew that nobody in Europe (except themselves) wanted such a thing, but hoped they could force its creation with help of the Euro.
Who says soccer doesn’t matter? The Germans beat the Greeks in the Euro 2012 game, and now they get up the nerve to say “no more bailouts.”
Perfect caption. Kudos to you sir!
the proper resonse to Germany is you first.
remember this are ALL socialist based parliamentary governments. Germany and France have ignored the rules and now it is “do as I say not as I do.”
What are the betting pools on the date of the end of the euro and then the EU?
Germany had and probably still has a very strong guest worker program. (IOW you can work in germany but must leave)
At this point all the eu has each other by the testicles. it is a circular firing squad. The rest of europe could decide to push germany around to the point where germany leaves the euro first.
The ENTIRE EU rescue is doomed to failure because it is based on the false assumption that socialism is a valid working political system.
Oh, okay. It'll work in a small country of homogeneous population and rigid immigration policies, like Sweden, but only because the economy is fueled by external capitalist economies.
The rest of Europe is probably foolish enough to push Germany to the breaking (away) point. After all--they are stupid enough to keep trying Marxism.
And note that the Germans, unlike the French, were sufficiently circumspect not to give their Gastarbeiter citizenship.
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