Posted on 02/17/2015 8:36:50 AM PST by Kaslin
Greece Says Extension is "Absurd"
Talks between Greece and eurozone officials were expected to last through the night. Instead Greece Bailout Talks Collapsed in Acrimony after four hours.
79% Support Syriza Negotiation Stance
A crucial meeting of eurozone finance ministers over the future of Greece’s bailout broke down in acrimony after Athens angrily rejected the bloc’s insistence that it extend its current €172bn rescue as “absurd” and “unacceptable”.
It is the second time in five days that negotiations between the new anti-austerity Greek government and its eurozone creditors have collapsed and it means Athens, whose public finances are deteriorating fast, could soon be left with no European financial backstop.
The eurozone gave Athens until Wednesday night to reverse course. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairman of the eurogroup of finance ministers, said the time available for a Greek request was almost out: “We can use this week, but that’s about it,” he said. “There was a very strong opinion across the eurogroup that the next step has to come from the Greek authorities,” he added.
Monday’s talks collapsed when Yanis Varoufakis, Greek finance minister, strongly objected to a draft statement according to which Athens would drop its fierce opposition to prolonging its bailout.
Mr Dijsselbloem said holding another finance ministers this week to discuss Greece was contingent on a request for a bailout extension from Athens. He added that he had spoke with Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, and that Mr Tusk had no intention of calling a summit of eurozone heads of government.
Talks between Greece and European finance ministers have collapsed early after Greece rejected the EU's bailout offer as 'absurd' and 'unacceptable'.
Before the meeting, German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble had already said he was not optimistic a deal would be reached.
Mr Schaeuble told German radio: "The problem is that Greece has lived beyond its means for a long time and that nobody wants to give Greece money any more without guarantees," Mr Schaeuble said.
Greece has proposed a new bailout programme that involves a bridging loan to keep the country going for six months and help it repay €7bn (£5.2bn) of maturing bonds.
The second part of the plan would see the county's debt refinanced. Part of this might be through "GDP bonds" - bonds carrying an interest rate linked to economic growth.
Greece also wants to see a reduction in the primary surplus target - the surplus the government must generate (excluding interest payments on debt) - from 3% to 1.49% of GDP.
In Greece last week, two opinion polls indicated that more than three-quarters of Greeks supported Mr Tsipras's hardline stance.
According to the polls, 79% of Greeks backed the government's policies and 74% believed its negotiating strategy would succeed.
“When you owe the bank a million dollars, they own you. When you owe the bank $100 Billion Dollars, you own THEM.”
Pass the popcorn.
The free lunch is alive and well in Athens.
Looks like a Spartan budget is not what the Greeks want.
That is a statement of certainty. And, I think Greece’s posture is demonstrating that.
I’ll be so happy when the EU finally pulls the plug on Greece.
I hope Greece pulls out and stiffs the EU and collapses the Euro!
Make them go bankrupt and make them no more loans.
OhhhPaaaaaah!!!
Obama joins ally list on Greek austerity relief
Athens (AFP) - Greece's new left-wing government can boast some high-profile allies, from Nobel economics laureates to US President Barack Obama, in its controversial drive against austerity in Europe.
amen
Bankers like to go for rides but don’t drive much themselves.
They are on a pretty wild ride right now
Exactly. All those dimwitted Euroweenies mindlessly cheering Obama in the streets in 2008. How do you like Obama now?
Obama basically threw Europe, especially Germany, under the bus. Not only that, but Obama backed the bus up and ran them over again.
I think there are four things which the news media and public have not come to grasp about this mess.
1. The amount of debt and economic issues are probably more serious on the average citizen than everyone imagined. If you are a diabetic....you have to use your own savings and pay cash to get insulin. Name any disease, it's serum or pills, and if it's made outside of Greece (90-percent chance), then you will burn up your savings to survive. Since 2009, Greeks have been waiting on the turn-around. It hasn't happened. It might be two decades before some economic change occurs.
2. The truth is, Greece never was ready for the Euro. It may never be ready for it.
3. Once they end their relationship to the Euro and go back to the Drachma....Greeks will find the economy just about the same and most Greeks will be surviving off the dollar or Euro as their real hard currency....rather than the fake Drachma which everyone will be trading with.
4. If you think this January election is the end of the political chaos....I'd take a deep breathe and prepare for another election before the end of the year. This January election doesn't really fix anything....it just resets the clock and makes people think there's still a better chance ahead, where there isn't.
Europe and we need for Greece to pull out of the Euro and for a couple of other countries to follow quickly to bring the whole Euro illusion down. It must collapse eventually and the longer it takes the worse will be the result. Same goes for the dollar.
Haaa!
Let Putin have Greece if he wants it. Russia has money problems of its own.
With a fruitcake socialist moron in the White Hut we’re next.
Many high level bankers need to spend more time with their familys.
The Greeks think they can go it alone and eliminate all that nasty debt. Yes. they can and they won’t like the results one bit. They do not understand what “austerity” actually is and are apt to get a classic Russian style Stalinist system out of it. If they would respond by eliminating business taxes and regulations altogether, which would mean exiting the EuroUnion altogether, they could get prosperous fairly quickly with European and American companies bidding up the price of suitable industrial real estate.
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