Athens – Greek leaders must begin on Sunday a European tour aimed at rallying the most of the country against the austerity policies, facing a Germany still intransigent and after playing the appeasement
Prime. Minister Alexis Tsipras asked Saturday in a statement released by his office time to breathe, and assured not to seek conflict.
As he had said during his campaign, the leader of the radical left Syriza party has promised not to take any unilateral decision on the very thorny issue of the debt of the country.
– ‘Irresponsible’? –
In an interview in the morning, Chancellor Angela Merkel he has again indicated his rejection of any cancellation, even partial, of the Greek debt, held mainly by European states. The President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, even described the attitude of the Greek irresponsible government.
It is against this hard line embodied in Berlin that the Spanish anti-liberal party mobilized Saturday in Madrid tens of thousands of supporters, galvanized by the electoral victory of SYRIZA their ally.
Meanwhile in Athens, the boiling Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis tried to extinguish the fire he had lit Friday by breaking sharply with the troika. This delegation of experts from the IMF, the ECB (European Central Bank) and the European Union confirms the payment of aid to Greece in assessing its economic and fiscal policy.
In an interview to be published Sunday in the magazine To Vima, Mr Varoufakis softened his speech, and said not wanting to waste time in the troika, because it is not authorized to discuss the substance and logic of the device using 240 billion in place from 2010 for Greece.
Now, it is this logic that Greece wants to see a European New Deal, starting with clear at least part of its debt 315 billion, the equivalent of 175% of its gross domestic product
-. The hired Lazard –
Athens to take this advice from the company Franco-American Lazard, including Vice President for Europe Matthieu Pigasse publicly pleaded Friday for a deletion of 100 billion euros of debt.
This is also defending a expanded recovery program (re-employment of civil servants, increasing the minimum wage, aid to poor households) and the end of privatizations, including that of the iconic port of Piraeus, Messrs. Tsipras Varoufakis and began a tour of European capitals.
The Minister of Finance share on Saturday for Paris.
He will meet Sunday at 17:00 (1600 GMT) with the minister Michel Sapin, which already stated its intention to play the hyphens between Greece and Germany, then the economy minister Emmanuel Macron. Then he will see his British counterpart George Osborne in London on Monday, and Italian Pier-Carlo Padoan in Rome on Tuesday.
Mr. Tsipras begin, meanwhile, on Sunday by Cyprus. It will then go also in Rome on Tuesday and Wednesday in Paris.
For now, the Greek ministers have not planned to go to Berlin, and dialogue of the deaf therefore continues through . Press
The Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble assured in an interview Saturday. If I was a responsible Greek politician, I do not mènerais debate on debt relief
– The rigor camp gives voice –
Germany is not alone: the Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho refused any conference that would be proposed to cancel or restructure debt.
In Berlin, it is understood that the Baltic countries are also advocates of tough on Greece.
This camp rigor received Saturday the support of the Governor of the Central Bank of Finland Erkki Liikanen, member of the management of the ECB.
He said Saturday that the aid plan for Greece had expired at the end of February Therefore a solution must be found, otherwise we can not continue to pay.
At this time, the plan provides $ 7.2 billion, if Athens has fulfilled its commitments.
But it does nothing in this direction. So Saturday night Economy Minister George Stathakis announced a law establishing a radical debt relief for poor Greeks can not repay bank loans, with robust social criteria.
But Greece does not seem to be able to afford to be released by the ECB, which supports its fragile banks themselves only source of funding of the Greek state.
(© AFP / February 1, 2015 4:09)
(AFP / 01/02/2015 4:11) ^ ->
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