Eurozone - Page 4

Greek Bailout: Everybody Capitulated to Everyone Else

The seemingly final deadline for serious Greek proposals in the debt showdown was Friday morning, and some paperwork was indeed delivered on schedule, inducing some optimism that a Greek exit from the Euro would be averted. Depending on who you ask, the deal is either a stunning triumph or disastrous capitulation for either Greece or its creditors.

AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti

Greek Meltdown Watch: Yanis Varoufakis Resigns as Finance Minister

As Greece breaks apart on the rocky shores of the European Union, the man who did so much to run his nation’s finances aground has decided to call it quits. The New York Times sees the sudden resignation of “combative” Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis as a gesture of “conciliation” between the socialist Syriza government and a thoroughly fed-up European Union, but it might be premature to talk about Greece making peace with its creditors.

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Greek Pop Star Defies Leftist Government, Urges ‘Yes’ Vote on EU Referendum

As the ruling Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza) vocally demands the Greek people vote “no” on a referendum regarding European Union debt repayment terms on Sunday, an unlikely voice has emerged representing the opposition “yes” vote, interpreted as a vote in favor of keeping the Euro as currency and remaining in the Euro: electro-pop megastar Sakis Rouvas.

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Strange Bedfellows: Turkey Offers Greece Aid to Remedy Financial Crisis

Multiple factions within the Turkish government have expressed a willingness to help the Greek government repay its debts to the European Union, from a general statement by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that Turkey will do “whatever we can” to help Greece to the nation’s leftist party suggesting a massive loan to the Greek government in solidarity.

The Associated Press

Eurozone Expecting Greek Default After Bailout Extension Rejected

The Greek prime minister’s surprise call for a July 5 referendum for voters to decide whether or not to accept the terms of a bailout deal offered by international creditors prompted the eurozone to reject Greece’s pleas to extend the expiring bailout, various news outlets report.

The Associated Press

Thousands of Pro-European Greeks Rally Against Syriza to Keep the Euro

Thousands of Greeks rallied in Athens’ Syntagma Square on Monday demanding their government find a solution to their debt crisis that would allow Greece to remain in the Euro. The protest highlights the persistent demand from the Greek people that they remain within the Eurozone, even as Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ negotiation tactics put that reality in jeopardy.

REUTERS/YANNIS BEHRAKIS

Greece Told to Back Down on Debt Demands by Creditors

The long standoff between intransigent Greek socialists and their increasingly exasperated creditors appears to be reaching an end, judging by the commentary after an International Monetary Fund meeting this week. It sounds as if the Greeks are running out of cards to play.

Europe Greece Flags Athens

Greek Communists Storm Finance Ministry Protesting EU Proposals

Individuals associated with the All Workers Militant Front (PAME), a communist trade union, stormed the Greek Foreign Ministry on Thursday, demanding the far-left government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras not agree to any austerity reforms with the European Union, reforms demanded by both the EU and creditors to help Greece avoid a debt default.

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Greek PM Raises WW II Reparations during Otherwise Cordial Berlin Visit

Leftist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, during a visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, raised the issue of Greece receiving war reparations for the damage the Nazis did to the country in World War II. Despite Merkel’s rapid dismissal of the possibility, the two appeared cordial and friendly during their public press event leading up to a reception dinner.

AP Photo/Michael Sohn

Greek Revolt Long Overdue

The newly elected Greek government is quite correct to eschew austerity and seek reductions in what it owes northern European governments. The Euro is punishing the South, and solving Mediterranean states’ chronic financial problems would require moving some industry from the North to the South. More austerity would only bleed the patient further.

Europe Greece Flags Athens

Syriza’s Spanish Allies Hold Rally Against Anti-Austerity

Greece’s new anti-austerity Prime Minister Alexis Tsipris has a strengthening ally in Spain as divisions firmly appear amongst eurozone members. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out cancelling any of Greece’s debt, saying banks and creditors have already made substantial cuts

PODEMOS Reuters

Germans Issue Stark Warning To Greeks After Syriza Victory

German Politicians have issued a stark warning to Greece’s new government that the economic reforms imposed by the EU must continue, the International Business Times reports. Alexis Tsipras’s Syriza secured victory in the Greek elections on Sunday and have formed

Reuters

Beware of Greece Demanding Debt Relief

Insolvent Greece is at the center of the European Financial Crisis that has led to a 20 percent devaluation of the exchange rate of the euro against the U.S. dollar. Polls indicate that in parliamentary elections on Sunday, the main leftist and center-right parties will finish one and two.

Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP

Germany Carves Out a Backdoor Exit from the Euro

The European Central Bank (ECB) gave the Left and their allies meeting in Davos, Switzerland, everything they could have hoped for with the announcement that they have agreed to print $1.13 trillion of new cash to buy the national debt of their insolvent members. But “hidden within the announcement is evidence of Germany’s weakening commitment to the European project,” according to Stratfor.

Euro-Notes_Reuters

Far Left Poised for Victory in Greek Election

The results of the Greek general election seem a foregone conclusion as Alexis Tsipras of the left wing Syriza party looks set to saunter home comfortably. The former communist, who very nearly won the last election after the European Commission

Tsipris_Reuters