Greek stand-off
http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2015/02/euro-crisis-0
So the talks between Greece and the EU finance ministers broke up in acrimony last night and we have a new "deadline" of Friday. That is the date Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister, set for Greece to apply for an extension of the bailout programme. Greece called the EU plan "absurd and unacceptable".
The good news is that this is partly an issue of semantics. The EU wants Greece to apply for an extension to the existing bailout programme, and the conditions can be altered once the extension is in place; Greece wants the existing programme to be abandoned and a bridging loan to be offered while a new deal is agreed. It is not difficult to see how a form of words might be found to bridge this gap; one wag suggested that the deal be called an extension in the German language text and a bridging loan in the Greek version.
But the bad news is also that the argument is about semantics. Syriza won election on a platform of rejecting the bailout terms, so needs a victory on this specific issue; the EU has constructed an entire system of condition loans and bailout programmes and does not want to see this destroyed. Neither side will want to give way on the language. It is also a matter of negotiating tactics; the EU is in a better position to drive a bargain if Greece is operating under the existing bailout, Greece will be in a much stronger position if it is able to get money without conditions. So success on this seemingly minor point of language may lead to success on the entire deal.
2 comments:
This an interesting article as Greece and the EU have been at each other heads. I think Syriza will come out with the victory in this case as their is a better chance of Greece getting the better deal.
So...this argument did finally come to a conclusion, and the Greek government did gain a four month extension to the bailout overall. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31564846
I believe that this war is far from over. I think that the Greek people are tired of hearing the word austerity and that the Eurozone powers are tired of hearing that promises will be broken. The point is that a "grexit" will cause more harm than good for all involved, and, therefore, continues to be something avoided at all costs.
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