The Greek crisis

One of the problems here is if Greece is seen to leave the EU and euro with collapsed banks, who’s next?. The EU power countries won’t allow Greece to exit because there is a danger that mass capital withdrawal will take place from banks in other southern Mediterranean countries. That would be the end of the euro and the EU.

Just ask yourself, if you had a million euro where would you put it at the moment, Portugal, Italy, Spain or would it be Germany or France.

Whatever happened to the concept of a common market where each country retains its own control over its future wellbeing, the happiness and social cohesiveness of its citizens, but with the security of a wider market place with common interest to sustain growth?

This whole episode has been an eye opener to how self interests of powerful nations can turn a blind eye to some very uncomfortable realities where financial institutions can wreak havoc if left unchecked (irresponsible lending in full knowledge of inability to pay in the longer term).

I  find it hard to believe that this has become an experiment that has the potential to destroy a generation of innocent people's lives unless something radical is done to address necessary reforms (including greater controls/ regulation to curb compromising banking malpractice and irresponsible lending), provide credible strategies to promote growth, devise policy to assist struggling countries through the lengthy transitional phase of required reforms, and thereby avert unrest and understandable mistrust of a system that fails to protect those most vulnerable members.

I recall when Gordon Brown was chancellor that he conducted several 'tests' over many years in respect of the UK entering the eurozone, we always 'just' failed his tests, this makes me think that with a bit of imaginative accountancy we could have probably passed one of his tests. Now far be it for me to suspect that one or two porkies have been told in respect of applications to join the eurozone, but it certainly gives me food for thought.  

How can any "organisation" be considered credible when they don't demonstrate the intellectual capacity to have checks and monitoring procedures in place to prohibit such "lies" in the first place..... It hardly inspires confidence.

This also goes to the heart of how financial institutions pulled the wool over all too many eyes by their complex and hidden malpractices, their failure to ensure compliance with regulation etc. 

Some very interesting developments today that could coincide to turn things on it's head:

1. The IMF's scathing judgement on the EU re debt forgiveness - or lack of.  It turns out the Eurozone ministers knew of the report on Monday but sat on it.
2. The numbers at today's Greek parliamentary vote on the 'deal' may go against it.  If so, all bets are off.

'Grexit' may still be an outcome, albeit a very messy one.

Tsipras needs to keep defections below 40 to get it agreed.

Hello Hepatitis

Your defiantly one for us poor Greeks. Thanks for Zeus our God. Once we can get a few euro out of the cash machine we are all booking are tickets with Wallace Arnold to come to good old Blighty. We could even arrive at the peak district. But we need to do it quickly whilst we still have EU passport to benefits paradise. £500 per week in housing benefit, £2,167 per month universal credit, £72.40 per week in jobseekers allowance. Plus new minimum wage. Perhaps we could all get a waiters job at Gordon's.

According to a Guardian article dated 2nd July

The International Monetary Fund has electrified the referendum debate in Greeceafter it conceded that the crisis-ridden country needs up to €60bn (£42bn) of extra funds over the next three years and large-scale debt relief to create “a breathing space” and stabilise the economy.

With days to go before Sunday’s knife-edge referendum that the country’s creditors have cast as a vote on whether it wants to keep the euro, the IMF revealed a deep split with Europe as it warned that Greece’s debts were “unsustainable”.

Fund officials said they would not be prepared to put a proposal for a third Greek bailout to the Washington-based organisation’s board unless it included both a commitment to economic reform and debt relief.

According to the IMF, Greece should have a 20-year grace period before making any debt repayments and final payments should not take place until 2055. It would need €10bn to get through the next few months and a further €50bn after that.

The Greek prime minister Alexis Tsipras welcomed the IMF’s intervention saying in a TV interview that what the IMF said was never put to him during negotiation.

According to a Guardian article dated 2nd July

The International Monetary Fund has electrified the referendum debate in Greeceafter it conceded that the crisis-ridden country needs up to €60bn

Thats well out of date ads, the latest estimate us at least 85bn€ . Its not really a realistic sum to pay back! I don't profess to know what the answer is. Its a huge mess.

A huge mess indeed Teamgb.

For those who doubt the impact that the global financial crisis has had on the evolving Greek bailout, I wonder is it time to reflect on the following?  

Many causes for the financial crisis have been suggested, with varying weight assigned by experts. The U.S. Senate's Levin–Coburn Report concluded that the crisis was the result of "high risk, complex financial products; undisclosed conflicts of interest; the failure of regulators, the credit rating agencies, and the market itself to rein in the excesses of Wall Street

The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission concluded that the financial crisis was avoidable and was caused by "widespread failures in financial regulation and supervision," "dramatic failures of corporate governance and risk management at many systemically important financial institutions," "a combination of excessive borrowing, risky investments, and lack of transparency" by financial institutions, ill preparation and inconsistent action by government that "added to the uncertainty and panic," a "systemic breakdown in accountability and ethics," "collapsing mortgage-lending standards and the mortgage securitization pipeline," deregulation of over-the-counter derivatives, especially credit default swaps, and "the failures of credit rating agencies" to correctly price risk.

So given all of the above, shouldn't European citizens be asking the question of the European Commission how they intend to ensure that correct regulatory procedures are put in place to prevent a reoccurence of the shambles that we are now witnessing in Europe with the many bailouts that have occurred since 2008, and if there is a process whereby they can bring to account those financial institutions identified in the financial crisis enquiry's findings, that have wreaked havoc on so many innocent European citizens?

papadopoulos,

I've heard of folk putting 2 and 2 together and coming up with 47, but have never seen it done by a master before, where the hell did you get that crap out of my totally inoffensive post?  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33546352

Eurozone ministers have agreed to give Greece a €7bn (£5bn) bridging loan from an EU-wide fund to keep its finances afloat until a bailout is approved.

The loan is expected to be confirmed on Friday by all EU member states.

In another development, the European Central Bank agreed to increase emergency funding to Greece for the first time since it was frozen in June.

Interesting.  I wonder how many schools, hospitals, and social services programmes could have been funded using that money by the taxpaying citizens who funded it throughout Europe?  They're the ones that to a large extent at least, played the game, and are bailing out those that systematically didn't.  It's a racket.

As The Slovakian PM said: there are five Eurozone nations poorer than Greece - including his - all of which have been complying with the rule-abiding, austerity, reform agenda yet are bailing out Greece.

According to this, Germany "may consider" debt relief.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-33587330

They have certainly kicked the can down the road and into the long grass for now. Greece is skint, potless and bankrupt, it can't ever pay back this amount of debt with no income, no export industry and a nation of unemployed waiters. The wealthy corrupt Greeks jumped ship ages ago, tranferring their money to UK and other european banks without any questions asked or money laudering queries. It's all been a scam and Spain, Portugal and Italy will follow their example. Get your money out while you can before it's rationed at the cash point at 50 euro a day.