It’s All Greek [Politics] To Me | February 19, 2015
by Niki Papadogiannakis
As of tomorrow, Greece has one of two fates: the first is to renew their loan agreement with Troika which include easing of the present austerity terms, the second is what’s been characterized as ‘Grexit.’
Grexit analogized as a kebab sandwich? (BBC News)
What this creative video explanation doesn’t cover is what will happen to the international monetary system if Greece does leave the Eurozone. Not only will Greece have to halt the banks and start printing drachmas, but the euro and the dollar will fall drastically, markets will go insane and the European Union will become unstable for trade— at least for a couple months.
These scenarios are, of course, subject to change at any point in the next 24 hours if the last 24 are any indication:
- Greece crisis: Eurozone set for vital loan talks (BBC): “Germany on Thursday rejected a Greek request for a six-month extension to its eurozone loan programme.The rejection came despite the European Commission calling the Greek request “positive” only minutes earlier.Greece had sought a new six-month assistance package, rather than a renewal of the existing deal which linked bailout money to tough austerity conditions.”
What Greece should do – or shouldn’t https://t.co/mKDOrDBG9j
— Yanis Varoufakis (@yanisvaroufakis)
February 20, 2015
- ANALYSIS: Greece Should Not Give In to Germany’s Bullying (Foreign Policy): “Greece can save itself. Left in the clutches of its EU creditors, it is not destined for the sunlit uplands of recovery, but for the enduring misery of debt bondage. So the four-point plan put forward by its dashing new finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, is eminently sensible.”
(VOX)
- German government denounces Greek proposal as “Trojan Horse” (VOX): “Germans simply don’t trust the Syriza government that is running Greece. It also gets at the fact that one of the reasons they don’t trust them is simply that they are Greek. The Greeks are viewed as an unreliable country that is in need of discipline and reform, and Syriza is seen as a political project that is fundamentally about resisting reform.”
- Greek proposal for loan extension to be discussed in Brussels amid tensions (Ekathimerini): “Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke with German Chancellor Angela Merkel Thursday evening after a day of tense efforts aimed at securing a compromise between Greece and the eurozone ahead of a Eurogroup summit Friday where Greece’s proposal for extending its loan agreement with creditors is expected to be discussed.”
(euronews)
- Germany snubs Greece’s EU loan offer (euronews): “Germany on Thursday rejected Greece’s request for a six-month extension to an EU scheme of emergency loans.Berlin’s decision came shortly after the European Commission described the move as ‘positive’.”
- The agony of Greece (The Economist): “Greek voters want to stay in the euro. They have also elected a government that has made a Greek exit, or “Grexit”, seem much more likely. Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s finance minister, said on February 10th that if Greece’s new Syriza-led government did not seek an extension of its bail-out, which expires on February 28th, ‘Then it’s over.'”
h/t @BBCGavinHewitt, ZeroHedge
Niki Papadogiannaki 