05-22-2017, 09:21 PM
*** 23-May-17 World View -- Germany's government blocks debt relief for Greece, despite new austerity measures
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Greece's parliament raises taxes, cuts pensions to satisfy lenders
****
![[Image: g170522b.jpg]](http://Media.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g170522b.jpg)
Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble is blocking further debt relief for Greece (Reuters)
We reported in February
that after
passing one harsh austerity measure after another, Greece may refuse
to pass another one, and Greece might actually leave the eurozone this
time.
However, Greece's parliament has now passed an omnibus austerity bill
in order to meet requirements the lending institutions -- the European
Central Bank (ECB), the European Commission (EC), and the
International Monetary Fund(IMF). Greece faces a €7.5 billion
debt repayment in July, and needs to borrow additional money in order
to make that debt repayment.
The terms of bill include the following:
Greece once had an extremely generous pension system. Retirement was
possible from as early as the age of 55 after 30 years of work.
Public sector employees and women with young children could retire
several years earlier. Today, the standard retirement age is 67, and
incomes have fallen 40% over the last seven years of crisis.
Under the new bill, there will be some relief measures, contingent on
meeting fiscal targets, including benefits for low income groups,
support for rental costs up to 1,000 euros annually, increased
benefits for parents with children, and subsidies for child care and
lower costs for medicines. Kathimerini and Euro News and Kathimerini
Related Articles
****
**** Germany's government blocks debt relief for Greece, despite new austerity measures
****
Monday's meeting of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers failed
to reach an agreement on further debt relief for Greece, despite the
harsh new austerity measures adopted by Greece's parliament.
The main purpose of the talks was to get the IMF to join in the
bailout. The IMF doesn't want to provide any more bailout money
because it believes that Greece's debt is unsustainable, unless the
Eurogroup agrees to give Greece more debt relief.
Germany's irascible Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble won't agree to
release new bailout funds to Greece, unless the IMF participates. But
with German elections approaching, Schäuble also won't agree to
further debt relief for Greece.
Germany's government is split. For months, Foreign Minister Sigmar
Gabriel has criticized Schäuble's tough stance on Greece.
Schäuble is in Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union
party. Gabriel is in Germany's Social Democrat party. Gabriel is
demanding that debt relief for Greece "must not fail due to German
resistance." However, the Germany parliament needs to approve bailout
negotiations, and Schäuble responded to Gabriel on Monday:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"In Germany, we have a legal framework for
> parliamentary involvement ... which is sometimes overlooked,
> including by members of the German government."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The next meeting will occur in three weeks. Agreement must be reached
in time to lend Greece the next tranche of loans to that Greece can
make its €7.5 billion debt repayment in July. If Greece fails to
make that payment, then it is in default.
This looks like it has all the makings of another major Greek debt
crisis, with several all-night meetings in a row, and with agreement
finally reached at 5 am on the last possible day to avoid bankruptcy.
However, some reports indicate that the Europeans are really sick and
tired of those awful crisis weekends, and so they may be motivated to
reach an agreement more quickly. Kathimerini and Politico (EU) and Bloomberg
Related Articles
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Greece, Grexit,
European Central Bank, ECB, European Commission, EC,
International Monetary Fund, IMF, Thessaloniki,
Germany, Wolfgang Schäuble, Sigmar Gabriel
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Greece's parliament raises taxes, cuts pensions to satisfy lenders
- Germany's government blocks debt relief for Greece, despite new austerity measures
****
**** Greece's parliament raises taxes, cuts pensions to satisfy lenders
****
Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble is blocking further debt relief for Greece (Reuters)
We reported in February
that after
passing one harsh austerity measure after another, Greece may refuse
to pass another one, and Greece might actually leave the eurozone this
time.
However, Greece's parliament has now passed an omnibus austerity bill
in order to meet requirements the lending institutions -- the European
Central Bank (ECB), the European Commission (EC), and the
International Monetary Fund(IMF). Greece faces a €7.5 billion
debt repayment in July, and needs to borrow additional money in order
to make that debt repayment.
The terms of bill include the following:
- Income tax increases will generate revenues of €1.9
billion.
- Pensions will be cut up to 18%, saving €2.3 billion.
- Asset sales: Sale of stakes in railways, Thessaloniki port, Athens
International Airport, Hellenic Petroleum and real estate assets, to
generate €4.22 billion in 2017-18.
Greece once had an extremely generous pension system. Retirement was
possible from as early as the age of 55 after 30 years of work.
Public sector employees and women with young children could retire
several years earlier. Today, the standard retirement age is 67, and
incomes have fallen 40% over the last seven years of crisis.
Under the new bill, there will be some relief measures, contingent on
meeting fiscal targets, including benefits for low income groups,
support for rental costs up to 1,000 euros annually, increased
benefits for parents with children, and subsidies for child care and
lower costs for medicines. Kathimerini and Euro News and Kathimerini
Related Articles
- Grexit risk: Greece may refuse a new round of austerity (11-Feb-2017)
- Greece financial crisis threatened after Tsipras announces new spending program (15-Dec-2016)
- Workers riot as Greece braces for new austerity measures (09-May-2016)
- Alexis Tsipras' far-left Syriza party wins historic election in Greece (26-Jan-2015)
****
**** Germany's government blocks debt relief for Greece, despite new austerity measures
****
Monday's meeting of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers failed
to reach an agreement on further debt relief for Greece, despite the
harsh new austerity measures adopted by Greece's parliament.
The main purpose of the talks was to get the IMF to join in the
bailout. The IMF doesn't want to provide any more bailout money
because it believes that Greece's debt is unsustainable, unless the
Eurogroup agrees to give Greece more debt relief.
Germany's irascible Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble won't agree to
release new bailout funds to Greece, unless the IMF participates. But
with German elections approaching, Schäuble also won't agree to
further debt relief for Greece.
Germany's government is split. For months, Foreign Minister Sigmar
Gabriel has criticized Schäuble's tough stance on Greece.
Schäuble is in Germany's conservative Christian Democratic Union
party. Gabriel is in Germany's Social Democrat party. Gabriel is
demanding that debt relief for Greece "must not fail due to German
resistance." However, the Germany parliament needs to approve bailout
negotiations, and Schäuble responded to Gabriel on Monday:
> [indent]<QUOTE>"In Germany, we have a legal framework for
> parliamentary involvement ... which is sometimes overlooked,
> including by members of the German government."<END QUOTE>[/indent]
The next meeting will occur in three weeks. Agreement must be reached
in time to lend Greece the next tranche of loans to that Greece can
make its €7.5 billion debt repayment in July. If Greece fails to
make that payment, then it is in default.
This looks like it has all the makings of another major Greek debt
crisis, with several all-night meetings in a row, and with agreement
finally reached at 5 am on the last possible day to avoid bankruptcy.
However, some reports indicate that the Europeans are really sick and
tired of those awful crisis weekends, and so they may be motivated to
reach an agreement more quickly. Kathimerini and Politico (EU) and Bloomberg
Related Articles
- Greece may demand 162 billion euros in WW II reparations from Germany (09-Apr-2013)
- Raucous EU-IMF confrontation lightens mood around Greece's bailout disaster (14-Nov-2012)
- Blowback grows from Greece/EU's political farce this weekend (11-May-2011)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Greece, Grexit,
European Central Bank, ECB, European Commission, EC,
International Monetary Fund, IMF, Thessaloniki,
Germany, Wolfgang Schäuble, Sigmar Gabriel
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
