The Greek government has officially asked the European Union (EU) to provide the debt-ridden country with a six-month loan assistance package, rather than the renewal of the current bailout deal which includes tough austerity conditions.
Press TV: According to an unnamed Greek government source, the request has stressed Athens’ commitment to fiscal balance, but rejected further austerity measures.
The Greek government “pledges fiscal balance... and will carry out immediate reforms against tax evasion and corruption,” the source said.
The proposed deal will help Athens to reduce the country’s massive debt and finally reach a deal with its international creditors “without blackmail and shortage of time,” the source added.
EU’s reactions
The EU welcomed Athens’ proposed plan to extend its bailout program as a big step towards solving the conflict between Greece’s leftist government and its European creditors.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker “sees in this letter (from the Greek government) a positive sign which could pave the way for a reasonable compromise in the interest of financial stability in the euro area as a whole,” said his spokesman, Margaritis Schinas.
Athens-EU conflict
Over the past weeks, Athens and the EU have been in a row over the country’s bailout loans.
The government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, whose leftist Syriza party stormed to victory in elections on January 25, has tried to renegotiate the terms of the country’s €240-billion (USD 270 billion) bailout it received in 2010 in return for imposing harsh austerity measures.
During his electoral campaign, Tsipras vowed to reconsider the austerity measures that have caused mounting dissatisfaction in the country.
The measures have forced people to endure multiple tax increases, along with cuts in pension and salary, in exchange for bailout loans by the troika of lenders - the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB).
Source
And sure enough, Germany did not.
Source
The Greek government “pledges fiscal balance... and will carry out immediate reforms against tax evasion and corruption,” the source said.
The proposed deal will help Athens to reduce the country’s massive debt and finally reach a deal with its international creditors “without blackmail and shortage of time,” the source added.
EU’s reactions
The EU welcomed Athens’ proposed plan to extend its bailout program as a big step towards solving the conflict between Greece’s leftist government and its European creditors.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker “sees in this letter (from the Greek government) a positive sign which could pave the way for a reasonable compromise in the interest of financial stability in the euro area as a whole,” said his spokesman, Margaritis Schinas.
Athens-EU conflict
Over the past weeks, Athens and the EU have been in a row over the country’s bailout loans.
The government of Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, whose leftist Syriza party stormed to victory in elections on January 25, has tried to renegotiate the terms of the country’s €240-billion (USD 270 billion) bailout it received in 2010 in return for imposing harsh austerity measures.
During his electoral campaign, Tsipras vowed to reconsider the austerity measures that have caused mounting dissatisfaction in the country.
The measures have forced people to endure multiple tax increases, along with cuts in pension and salary, in exchange for bailout loans by the troika of lenders - the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB).
Source
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Germany Throws Up
Over Greek Extension Proposal
Submitted by Tyler Durden: Moments after we reported that stocks were delighted to price in yet another Greek resolution (even if they would be loath to reprice the reality), both Bloomberg and Reuters poured cold water over the HFT servers in Mahwah with the following headlines: Over Greek Extension Proposal
- GERMANY REJECTS GREEK EXTENSION PROPOSAL, GOVT OFFICIAL SAYS
- GREEK LETTER DOESN'T OFFER SUBSTANTIVE SOLUTION, GERMANY SAYS
- GREEK LETTER NOT IN LINE WITH AGREED EUROGROUP CRITERIA: JAEGER
- GREEK PLAN SEEKS BRIDGE FUNDING W/O FULFILLING PROGRAM: JAEGER
In other words this is precisely what we warned first thing today when we said that "as we first reported two days ago when redlining the original, Moscovici, and final Eurogroup draft proposal, what Greece is requesting is merely a return to the original, "agreed-upon" language formulation. The problem is that now that Europe officially threw up on that language, conceding to the Greek bailout proposal would effectively see the European Goliath bested by the Greek David, something which Germany's Schauble will hardly agree to. "Germany rejected Greece’s request for an extension of its aid program, saying its offer doesn’t meet the euro region’s conditions for continuing aid.
The Greek government is trying to agree bridge-financing without meeting the conditions of its existing rescue program, German Finance Ministry Spokesman Martin Jaeger said in an e-mailed statement. European Commission Spokesman Margaritis Schinas moments earlier had said the Greek letter could be the basis for a “reasonable compromise.”
Euro-region finance ministers will make a “detailed assessment” of the request and formulate a response, Schinas said at a press conference in Brussels Thursday. Ministers are due to meet on Friday.
And sure enough, Germany did not.
Source
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