Izan daitekeena…
Cave in or Trojan Horse?1
1) Greziako gobernuaren eskutitza, Janis Varoufakis-ek sinatua:
“Here is the text of the Greek government’s letter:
Athens, February 18, 2015
Dear President of the Eurogroup,
(…)
… the Greek authorities are now applying for the extension of the Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement for a period of six months from its termination during which period we shall proceed jointly, …
The purpose of the requested six-month extension of the Agreement’s duration is:
(a) To agree the mutually acceptable financial and administrative terms the implementation of which, in collaboration with the institutions, will stabilise Greece’s fiscal position, attain appropriate primary fiscal surpluses, guarantee debt stability and assist in the attainment of fiscal targets for 2015 that take into account the present economic situation.
(…)
(e) To commence work between the technical teams on a possible new Contract for Recovery and Growth that the Greek authorities envisage between Greece, Europe and the International Monetary Fund which could follow the current Agreement.
(f) To agree on supervision under the EU and ECB framework and, in the same spirit, with the International Monetary Fund for the duration of the extended Agreement.
(…)
Sincerely,
Yanis Varoufakis
Minister of Finance
Hellenic Republic
2) Alemaniako Finantza Ministroaren erantzuna:
And the German Finance Ministry tweeted:
Erste Reaktion auf Brief aus Athen: Kein substantieller Lösungsvorschlag.
“No substantial solution proposed”.
(…)
3) Bill Mitchell-en irizpideak:
The questions that we will be explored ad nauseum are:
-
Was the Greek letter a cave in or a trojan horse?
-
What more could Germany want?
(…) for now this is what I thought the words meant.
1. On the face of it, the letter represents a cave in with the Greek government signalling that it was willing to maintain the harsh austerity that the Troika agreement had demanded in return for some insipid (face-saving) concessions.
2. The letter agreed that the Troika has an authority – something that its pre-election rhetoric fiercely denied and any progressive person should deny. It has no authority – it is unaccountable, unelected and has behaved like a bully. The requirement that the primary fiscal surplus should be 3 per cent this year and rising next year even more is Star Chamber stuff when you think about the unemployment rate, particularly the youth issues.
There is no economic justification for that at all. It means that the Greeks are paying taxes to fund foreign debt holders while their compatriots suffer unemployment and increasing poverty.
(…)
3. The Greek letter clearly acknowledged the Troika monitoring – the goons who come in and check their books – would continue. They had rejected this surveillance going into the election.
4. Germany has clearly rejected the Greek government’s request for a 6-month extension of its €172bn bailout loan. It appears that they have been upset by the wording such as “mutually acceptable financial and administrative terms”.
The Financial Times article that followed the German rejection (February 19, 2015) – Germans rebuff Greek ‘Trojan horse’ – claims that German Finance Ministry insiders consider the letter to be a:
“Trojan Horse” designed by Athens to change the conditions it must meet to receive €7.2bn in aid available for finishing the bailout.
Germany has even been arguing about the length of the letter and had prior to the meeting on Thursday demanded that Greece:
… submit no more than a three-sentence letter requesting the extension, promising to complete the programme, and committing to negotiating any changes with bailout monitors.
Bend down low!
5. The Greek response to the German rejection was reported as being:
… accept or reject the Greek request
The words are tough – but the ground that the Greeks have moved back towards Troika control, ongoing austerity with no sign of massive European investment to offset the damage being done by running a primary surplus – is vast. Unless the words mean something different to the usual English interpretation. I am not a diplomat.
6. The options now would appear to be obvious: (a) if the Eurogroup doesn’t stand up to the Germans at today’s meeting, then the Greeks have to become complete surrender monkeys. (b) The other option is that they restore their independence and get out of the dysfunctional Eurozone mess dominated by sociopaths who have not learned the lessons of history well. Bets are on that they will surrender.
7. If they stay in and Germany prevails, how then would Syriza to the Greek people its transition from fighter for Greek dignity and freedom from austerity a month ago to surrender monkey – Troika lackey today? I am not a politician.”
Izango dena…
Bihar-etzi, ‘akordioa’ irakurri eta gero…
Agian…with a “no comment!”
