The meeting was highly anticipated. Michel Sapin and his Greek counterpart Finance, Yanis Varoufakis, showed their agreement Sunday night in Paris at a joint press conference. Scheduled for Monday, the maintenance of over an hour and a half was advanced at the request of the Greek Minister: It was obviously time to reassure Europeans about his intentions
week. last, the new Greek government of Alexis Tsipras gave the impression of being ready to go to clash with its creditors. Yanis Varoufakis threw a cold, dropping to the end of his joint press conference with the President of the Eurogroup, Dutchman Jeroen Dijsselbloem, he did not want a dialogue with the “rickety commission” of the troika, this body to three heads (ECB, IMF, European Commission) responsible for the proper implementation of the measures imposed by Greece’s creditors in exchange for financial assistance.
“It is legitimate that the Greek government is concerned about the debt burden” (Sapin)
He changed his tune Sunday night before the press, After a long conversation over an hour and a half with Michel Sapin. It must be said that the French minister himself generously reached out. “When a country has to pay a debt of 175% compared to its GDP, can not be a trivial matter. It is legitimate that the Greek government is concerned about the weight of this debt and inquire in conditions that remain to be defined, to ensure that this burden is lighter, “he ruled, even if it excluded a pure and simple deletion of part of the Greek debt as SYRIZA demanded during the campaign Greek legislation.
The French finance minister, who is immediately placed in “hyphen” between Greece and the most orthodox countries has mainly discussed the possible “new contract” with the Europe “allows Greece to express its willingness to reform, the tools of the reform, its terms.” In other words, Paris is not hostile to Athens emancipated of the austerity program and reforms written by the troika, provided, of course, continue to make efforts. The fight against fraud and tax evasion “is something very important for European partners is one of the reforms that (they) complained that they were not put in place by the previous authorities.”
“No disagreement” (Varoufakis)
Meanwhile the government of the radical left SYRIZA is ready to present its own path of reform, “it is therefore Now the Greek government that the coming days are as serene as possible to that (he) has time to breathe, “concluded Michel Sapin by taking the petition Alexis Tsipras himself in a statement Saturday.
“I am delighted to be here, I wanted to thank you (…) especially for making my speech a rather redundant speech. I see no disagreement”, he responded immediately Yanis Varoufakis, visibly pleased. In perfect English, the trained economist has continued to boast Europe and its spirit of dialogue, calling for the occasion one of its founding fathers, the French Jean Monnet.
Criticized for planning meetings with the only states considered potential allies, such as Britain, France and especially Italy, he promised to go very quickly in Berlin, Helsinki and Bratislava Three capitals particularly concerned of its request deletion of part of the Greek debt.
Towards the end of the troika
Anxious to appease everyone, the Greek Minister, however, is not sold on the bottom. He did not discuss with the troika and therefore longer apply its recommendations. “These programs have failed spectacularly,” he insisted. An attitude that will deprive the 7 billion euros in aid that Athens had yet to receive the end of February 2012 under the second aid plan ($ 1.8 billion of euro area countries, 3, 5 billion from the IMF, the rest coming from gains made by the ECB on the Greek debt and it is supposed retroceded in Athens).
But Yanis Varoufakis has endeavored to present the thing as good news for German taxpayers: Greece wants to cut his drug addiction that is debt. “The problem with the bailout is not that our creditors have not given us enough money. (…) You have given us too much money. But most of that money was lost in the black hole of unsustainable debt. He already has a deletion of the debt held by private investors in 2012. But it was too little, too late. (…) My concern is that the bailout current costs, not just to us but to all Europeans, too much money. ”
As he had already proposed Yanis Varoufakis has emerged the idea of linking debt repayment to the growth of the country. He asked parallel to “rethink the adjustment programs with partners” and not against them, so that growth returns and Athens is able to pay “with interest.” This, according to the Greek Minister, can not be done with the current troika presented as incompetent technocrats League to discuss the philosophy of its programs.
A clear timetable
A variance with European partners as Michel Sapin has worked to reduce to a simple question of semantics. “The troika today (…) in the head of the Greeks, it’s something negative. And it counts. When talking to people, the words have meaning.” But for the French, it is useless to shine on this point: “You can call it what you will (…), but the dialogue with these three institutions (ECB, IMF, Commission, Ed) is a dialogue that will continue. ”
Two questions still remain unanswered. Can the European partners of Greece accept such deal? And in the meantime it is concluded, Athens she has the means to meet its financial commitments? Except to default on its debt unilaterally, Alexis Tsipras will face two important deadlines for repayment in March and this summer …
Yanis Varoufakis hope that the Greek financial system will, time detailing a new program of reforms by the end of February. He then gives one month to six weeks to discuss with partners of these reforms and the debt renegotiation. With the objective that the “new contract” with its partners to be effective in early May. This then allowed him to win new European funding and avoid a default or an exit from the euro zone. “The euro is irrevocable,” insisted Yanis Varoufakis Sunday evening, citing the ECB President Mario Draghi. It remains to prove it.
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