I/II. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11733260/Greece-news-live-Germany-readies-five-year-temporary-Grexit-plan-after-finance-ministers-fail-to-reach-agreement.html
Greece news live: Germany readies five-year temporary Grexit plan after finance ministers fail to reach agreement Wolfgang Schauble reportedly rejects Greece's new austerity measures, favouring a "temporary" Grexit as creditors demand even more austerity from Greece Greece's new bail-out plan - in 60 seconds [Video] By Mehreen Khan5:40AM BST 12 Jul 2015 • German finance ministry circulates plans for "temporary Grexit" • Troika set to demand more fiscal measures • Finland set to reject Greek rescue plans • Finance ministers to reconvene at 10am on Sunday • 24 hours to save the euro: European project on the brink of collapse • Explained: Why has Tsipras agreed to more austerity? Snipped II. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11733431/Greek-debt-crisis-proposals-What-does-the-possible-deal-mean-for-Greece-its-creditors-and-Europe.html Why is Alexis Tsipras signing up to worse austerity measures for Greece? The new reforms which have been agreed by the Greek parliament have thrown up a lot of questions. We try to answer them The 5 key players in the Greek financial crisis [Video] By Mehreen Khan2:45PM BST 11 Jul 2015 *Why have the Greeks signed up to harsher austerity?* Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is banking on securing an agreement with his creditors to keep the country in the euro. By agreeing to carry out many of the tough reforms and spending cuts he has so far resisted, he hopes to get a big concession on relieving part of the country's debt. *Is this worse than the deal voters rejected in the referendum?* Yes and no. On the one hand the VAT hikes and pensions reforms are exactly what creditors have wanted over the last month. However, Greece's lenders seem to have finally come round to the idea of alleviating the country's debt burden, after severe pressure from Washington. This was something that was always promised to Greece when they signed a bail-out in 2012, but it was never put in formal writing. Athens is also asking for a much bigger rescue package than it was before. This is around €75bn over the next three years so deeper reform measures are the price they'll have to pay. *Who doesn't support the package?* Members of the hard Left faction of Syriza voted against the reform plan in parliament on Friday night. 17 lawmakers voted against the plan, abstained or were absent from the vote. This meant that although Mr Tsipras has an overwhelming majority in his parliament - of 251 votes out of 300 - he was forced to rely on other parties after failing to gain more than 151 votes from Syriza MPs. Mr Tsipras is now set to embark on a major cabinet reshuffle next week, kicking out his hardliners, should a deal be agreed. What does debt relief look like? The Greeks want to have the repayments on their loans extended far into the middle of the century. Right now, the country will still be paying back their lenders in 2057. They also want to reduce the interest payments on the €330bn debt pile. *Why is it such a problem?* The eurozone's creditors, including its biggest bail-out contributor Germany, don't want their taxpayers to take a hit from further debt easing on Greece's debt. In particular, poorer members of the bloc, such as Estonia, Slovakia, and Latvia, feel they shouldn't have to suffer losses to keep Greece in the eurozone. These countries matter because they will need to rubber stamp any rescue package through their parliaments. *Who supports the Greeks?* Their biggest backers are the French, who have been working furiously behind the scenes to convince the more hawkish creditor countries to agree to debt relief and keep Greece in the euro. Italy and Cyprus have also supported the Greek cause. *What does the deal mean for Greece?* If they can secure the agreement from EU leaders on Sunday, and pass the parliamentary votes in Finland, Germany, Estonia, Slovakia, Portugal and Austria next week, it would mean three more years of bail-outs for Greece. In return for the money, the government will have to keep hitting budget surplus targets and prove it is implementing all the necessary reforms to continue receiving rescue cash until 2018. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
