Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman says Germany sees no basis at present for entering negotiations on a new bailout program for Greece. Steffen Seibert said Monday that Germany respects the "clear 'no' vote" by Greeks against austerity measures demanded by creditors and that "the door for talks always remains open." However, he said the conditions are "not there at present to enter negotiations on a new program." He said the "no" vote is a vote against the principle - still supported by Germany - that solidarity requires countries to take responsibility. Seibert says Europe will explore what possibilities there are to help Greek citizens and "a lot will depend on what proposals the Greek government now puts on the table." Regarding requests by Athens to restructure its debt, finance ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger said: "I can see no reason to enter into discussions." Meanwhile, ECB governing council member Christian Noyer said that Greece's debt cannot be restructured. "Greek debt held by the Eurosystem is debt that cannot by its very nature be restructured because that would be monetary financing of a state," he said...The French advisor went on to say that Merkel had gone out on a limb to reach a compromise with Greece over a credit deal.
"Merkel was very open to negotiations with Greece, showing patience and even a sort of maternal protection regarding Alexis Tspras," he said. France's Socialist government still hopes to avoid Greece leaving the euro, but France's opposition conservatives are now calling for Greece's orderly exit from the eurozone. Alain Juppé from Nicolas Sarkozy's centre-right Republicans party, said: "Greece is no longer capable of sticking to the disciplines of the eurozone."
"We must help it to organise its exit without any drama."...Angela Merkel displayed "maternal protection" towards Greece's Leftist prime minsiter Alexis Tsipras who betrayed the trust of the German Chancellor and François Hollande - despite France's more conciliatory line with Athens, according to a French presidential aide. The comment comes as the French and German leaders are to meet in Paris at 6pm local time (5pm BST) to discuss the Greek crisis, followed by a working dinner at 7.30pm at the Elysée Palace. The Hollande advisor's comment to AFP suggests France is hardening its line as facilitator vis a vis Greece and aligning itself more with Germany in a bid to show a united Franco-German front. The aide admitted Hollande got his fingers burned after seeking a compromise with Greek PM Tsipras, saying: "It will be difficult with Tsipras. There's a real problem of trust between him and us and us and him." Brussels to Greece: we're going to make your life much harder That was quite the press briefing from Commission vice-president Dombrovskis.
In short, Brussels will not be giving the Greek government anywhere near an
easier ride after last night.
Some points:
• "The place of Greece is and remains in Europe", but when pressed, Mr
Dombrovskis did not repeat that Greece's place remained in the single currency
• Brussels questions the legality of the referendum and the nature of the
question: it is "neither legally nor factually correct"
• The Commission will not carry out any talks with Athens before they get a
mandate from the eurozone's finance ministers who are meeting tomorrow
• Greece's vague promise of debt relief as agreed back in 2012 is now no
longer on the table after the second bail-out expired last week
• The No vote has made life much more "difficult" for the Greek government,
but the ball is in their court to now come up with some credible reforms
2 comments:
As they break off for some fuel, eurozone officials have told Reuters that Athens is being asked to go further in the way of cuts and structural reforms. That chimes with almost everything we've heard so far today.
One of the main reasons it that Greece's economy is deteriorating rapidly under the weight of capital controls - which are likely to stick around even if a deal is agreed. This places a further burden on the government to hit ambitious budget targets to keep qualifying for fresh rescue money. And to so, they'll have to embark on more radical belt-tightening.
Ireland's Michael Noonan today summed up some of the fears that "demand" side reforms, such as increasing taxes when an economy is in recession, will only condemn Greece to further misery. Instead he called on an emphasis on structural "supply side" measures to help restore the economy back to growth. The only problem with these is that they take much longer bear dividend.
Nobody likes the Schaeuble plan
Wolfgang Schaeuble's plan for a "conscious uncoupling" of Greece and euro, to paraphrase Gwynth Paltrow, is causing a bit of a stink.
A German social democract on Twitter has already rejected the idea to throw Greece out for five years and provide them with humanitarian aid.
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