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Greek Crisis Featured in U2 Tour Video Screen [Video] by Philip Chrysopoulos The Greek Reporter, May 31 <http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/05/31/greek-crisis-featured-in-u2-tour-video-screen-video> The Greek crisis makes a cameo appearance in the current U2 tour in the United States and Canada as the phrase “Unfuck Greece” along with footage from anti-austerity demonstrations in Athens’ Syntagma Square appear on the giant screen. When U2 performed in Athens in September 2010, Bono had referred to the hard economic times Greece and Ireland were going through. This time, the band’s support to austerity-stricken Greece shows again during the Innocence + Experience World Tour. Greece makes an appearance when U2 perform “Bullet the Blue Sky,” one of the band’s most political songs. On the gigantic stage screen appear images and political messages, such as Las Vegas footage, pictures from stock exchanges and images from the demonstration rallies against the economic crisis in Syntagma Square. At 4:51 and 5:06 in the video below, the “Unfuck Greece” slogan appears. It is a slogan that appeared on a placard during the rally in support of the new Greek government last February. <http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/05/31/greek-crisis-featured-in-u2-tour-video-screen-video> Tsipras lambasts 'absurd proposals' of creditors for Greece debt-deal failure PM Alexis Tsipras’s article in Le Monde newspaper: Europe at a crossroads The Prime Minister has penned a lengthy article in Le Monde defending his government's stance in the negotiations and the reform proposals it has submitted. the article in full in English is here: <http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/politics/article/pm-alexis-tsiprass-article-in-le-monde-newspaper-europe-at-a-crossroads> Times of Change, Greece, May 31 Greek leader Alexis Tsipras lashes out at EU, European Central Bank and IMF for months of fruitless negotiations as strains show within Syriza government by Helena Smith and Graeme Wearden The Guardian, May 31 <http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/may/31/greece-alexis-tsipras-lambasts-absurd-proposals-creditors-for-debt-deal-failure> Greece’s beleaguered prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has blamed the “absurd proposals” of creditors keeping the debt-stricken country afloat for the failure to reach a deal that could release emergency aid to avert default. In a hard-hitting article for the French daily Le Monde, the leader lambasted the uncompromising approach of the EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund for five months of fruitless negotiations. “The lack of an agreement so far is not due to the supposed intransigent, uncompromising and incomprehensible Greek stance,” he wrote. “It is due to the insistence of certain institutional actors on submitting absurd proposals and displaying a total indifference to the recent democratic choice of the Greek people.” The Greek leader held a telephone call on Sunday night with the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and France’s François Hollande to discuss the situation. All three leaders reiterated the need for a quick agreement, according to one official in Athens. . . . El Mundo: Merkel has decided to seek political solution for Greece According to sources cited by the paper, the decision has been taken for an agreement to be reached, perhaps as early as Sunday. Times of Change, Greece, May 29 May <http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/news/article/el-mundo-merkel-has-decided-to-seek-political-solution-for-greece> The Spanish newspaper El Mundo is reporting that an agreement between Greece and its partners is likely soon – perhaps even on Sunday – in an article with the headline ‘An agreement for Greece’. “Angela Merkel said ‘enough,’” according to the article which was written by the paper’s Brussels correspondent, citing sources familiar with the negotiations. The “Finance Ministers have already received the relevant instructions from the heads of their governments to complete the negotiations with Greece in a way that is successful within the coming days,” the paper writes. According to the same source, “a series of telephone conversations has taken place over the previous days, particularly among members of the European People’s Party in an attempt to coordinate their actions.” “There is likely to be a political agreement, the decision has already been taken. Today there are already a two thirds probability for there to be an agreement within the coming days. It is likely that the review of the programme will be concluded in order for it to be possible to disburse funds and subsequently for negotiations to move forward on a third programme,” the same source told El Mundo. . . . Hopes rise for a 'mini deal' to avoid Greek default in June According to Greek government sources, ...deal would see some funds released to avoid a Greek default in the summer in return for tough fiscal measures. by Nikos Tsitsas Times of Change, Greece, May 30 <http://www.thetoc.gr/eng/news/article/hopes-rise-for-a-mini-deal-to-avoid-greek-default-in-june> The Greek government is aiming to achieve a ‘mini agreement’ with its lenders which would see Greece committing to tough fiscal measures in return for the gradual release of bailout funds, according to information obtained by TheTOC. As part of the efforts to reach an eleventh-hour agreement that will allow Greece to avoid defaulting on international debt payments coming due in June, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande took part in a conference call with the Greek Prime Minister with the aim of reaching a ‘political agreement’. That, according to the same sources, would see a ‘mini deal’ struck between Greece and its lenders which would see the country commit to up to 4 billion euros in fiscal measures in return for the release of bailout loan tranches to cover IMF and ECB debt payments. Should that agreement be achieved, then both sides will immediately begin negotiations to reach a comprehensive agreement about the future of Greek government funding (including a potential restructuring of the debt) with the institutions, to be completed by the end of September. . . . In their discussions it appears that the German Chancellor stressed to Tsipras that time is running out and that there must be a agreement between the two sides where Greece will commit to a package of fiscal measures in return for a swift release of funds and more time for negotiations over a ‘Big agreement’ by September. The two sides agreed to speak again on Sunday with the Greek side agreeing to analyze the package of measures that it will be called on to implement in the event that it accepts the package for the ‘mini agreement’. Given these developments the Greek side expressed optimism that a provisional agreement could be struck as early as tomorrow (Sunday). The German chancellor would like to have the outline of a solution to the impasse in hand in order to put it before Francois Holland and the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker during a tripartite meeting planned for Monday. The outline of the deal According to sources, as part of the mini-agreement, the lenders are requesting that Greece commit to fiscal measures worth 4 billion euros. These include: VAT increases An emergency tax on incomes over 30,000 euros An emergency tax on business profits Maintaining the ENFIA property tax for 2015 Social security reforms such as unifying social security funds and implementing disincentives for early retirement A freeze on government pre-election pledges with regards to labour reforms such as minimum wage increases and the reinstatement of collective bargaining rights. Payroll cost reductions for state-run companies (DEKO) Liberalisation of ‘closed’ professions by completing the implementation of laws passed in 2010 but which only remain on paper A primary surplus target for the government’s budget of 1% of GDP in 2015. Drip feed of funds In return, the German chancellor appears willing to attempt to secure 3.5-3.8 billion euros which is the equivalent of half of the loan tranches that remain for the institutions to disburse to Greece as part of its bailout program. Furthermore a green light will be given for the return of 1.8 billion euros to the Greek government of profits made by the ECB on Greek bonds. However even in that case, the amount which will be collected will reach 5.6 billion euros at most which is 2 billion euros less than the total of the debt payments Greece must make by the end of July. According to sources the possibility remains that, given a deal, the ECB will increase the amount of government bonds Greek banks are allowed to have on their books, thus allowing the government to borrow additional funds from the banks. Regardless however, this means that even in the event that a mini-agreement is struck, Greece’s European lenders will be keeping the country on a short leash and will only be providing the country with enough funds to meet the majority of its imminent international debt obligations. The Greek government will still face a battle to ensure that it collects enough revenue to continue to pay pensions, public sector wages and make other payments. . . . Gov't officials said to draft agreement ahead of new teleconference I Kathimerini, Athens, May 31 <http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_31/05/2015_550551> Government officials attending an emergency summit under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Saturday prepared a draft agreement as Greek sources cited by the Athens-Macedonia News Agency indicated that negotiators in Brussels were close to a deal on value added tax, curbing early retirements and the gradual merging of pension funds. According to sources, the draft deal will likely be presented during a new teleconference between Tsipras, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande on Sunday that the Greek premier has requested in a bid to break the current deadlock with a political solution. The issue of Greece is expected to be discussed on Monday during a meeting in Berlin on Monday between Merkel, Hollande and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. Sources indicated Tsipras might meet the three on Monday night as pressure grows for a deal in the coming days. Greek Economy Minister: Agreement Within the Next Days by A. Makris The Greek Reporter, May 31, 2015 <http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/05/31/greek-economy-minister-agreement-within-the-next-days> “Deal exists,” stated Greek Economy Minister Giorgos Stathakis in an interview to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, clarifying that he foresees that “the deal will close within a few days” and a “Eurogroup to approve financing will follow.” Answering a question on whether there will be a third support program, Stathakis said: “It depends on the debt sustainability and growth project for the next three to four years, the framework is not clear yet. The aim of the agreement we want rules out the need of a new rescue program.” Regarding the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Stathakis said that “IMF’s mission to Greece ends in March 2016. There is no reason to be extended. We have tabled realistic and reasonable proposals. The key issues are the VAT reform and the reduction of the primary surplus target. We ask for 1% in 2015 that will gradually grow to 3% in 2018.” The Greek Minister made it clear that the main sectors on which the economic recovery will be based are maritime, tourism and education. “Growth can go hand in hand with social justice. In Greece we want to try it.” (source: ana-mpa)[Athens News Agency - Macedonia Press Agency] Greece open to compromise to seal deal this week, says interior minister I Kathimerini, Athens, May 30 [Reuters] <http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_30/05/2015_550541> Greece's government is confident of reaching a deal with its creditors this week and is open to pushing back parts of its anti-austerity programme to make that happen, the country's interior minister said Saturday. Greece and its EU/IMF creditors have been locked in talks for months on a cash-for-reforms deal and pressure is growing for a deal, since Athens risks default without aid from a bailout programme that expires on June 30. "We believe that we can and we must have a solution and a deal within the week,» Interior Minister Nikos Voutsis, who is not involved in Greece's talks with the lenders, told Skai television. "Some parts of our programme could be pushed back by six months or maybe by a year, so that there is some balance,» he said. He did not elaborate on what parts of the ruling Syriza party's anti-austerity programme could be pushed back, but the comments suggested a greater willingness to compromise on pre-election pledges. . . . Voutsis said Athens and its partners agreed on some issues, such as achieving low primary budget surpluses in the first two years. But they still disagreed on a sales tax, with Greece pushing so any VAT hikes will not burden lower incomes. "A powerful majority in the political negotiations has showed respect for the fact that there can't be further austerity strategies for the Greek issue, the Greek problem and the Greek people," he said. The debt stand-off between Greece and its European Union partners overshadowed a meeting of policymakers from the Group of Seven rich nations in Dresden, Germany, on Friday. The United States warned of a possible accident for the world economy if Greece and its creditors miss their June deadlines to avert a debt default. . . . Varoufakis Outlines Plan for Greece’s Return to Market Borrowing by A. Makris The Greek Reporter, May 31 <http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/05/31/varoufakis-outlines-plan-for-greeces-return-to-market-borrowing> Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis outlined a plan that he said will allow Greece to return to market borrowing, in an interview to Greek newspaper “Avghi.” [I Avgi, The Dawn, Athens morning daily affiliated with SYRIZA] Among others, the plan called for the issue of a low-interest, 30-year loan from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) to replace the debt currently held by the European Central Bank (ECB), while simultaneously restructuring the rest of Greece’s debt. According to Varoufakis, the government’s priority is a “combination of debt restructuring, investment injections and reforms that go beyond the inhumane practice of cutting pensions, benefits and wages.” Such a combination, he added, will help Greek society escape the “vortex” of a self-reinforcing crisis of debt and recession. Varoufakis slammed the ENFIA single property tax introduced by the previous government, saying it was a “hideous” tax that needs to be abolished. “As long as it is not abolished, we all feel accountable to the Greek people. But its abolition, even if gradual, will take place when the negotiation has ended and we can find equivalent taxes from large property taxation and from gradated taxation of incomes that are now evading,” he said. The Greek Finance Minister was also critical of a position expressed by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, who called for an additional 1.8 billion euros to be raised by increasing VAT. “In an economy in the throes of deflation and debt, with a tax system that burdens the have-nots, how can we increase public revenues by 1% of GDP via indirect taxation without causing even greater damage to the economy’s engine, to production and the markets?” Varoufakis wondered. . . . (source: ana-mpa) Long term debt deal could break Greek logjam by Paul Mason Channel 4 News, Britain, May 26 <http://blogs.channel4.com/paul-mason-blog/long-term-debt-deal-break-greek-logjam/3751> . . . I understand negotiators in Brussels are working to three subheadings: things the Greeks are prepared to give to the lenders, things they’re not, and things they want the lenders to concede to them. Foremost among what the Greek side wants is a single set of conditions applying to the long-delayed interim agreement, which releases 7.2bn euros of money from the old bailout and applies to the third bailout programme needed when the old one runs out on 30 June. It is this – the removal of uncertainty for future lenders and investors – which is both closest to the heart of Greek PM Alexis Tsipras, and gives him the best chance of persuading a rebellious party to accept the tough conditions of the coming deal. I understand the two parties are working towards a staff-level agreement by this weekend, which will essentially cover what Greece gives and what it doesn’t. It is, I understand, though not a done deal, now down to the level of deregulating bakeries and pharmacies. A staff agreement would leave the politicians at a higher level to make a deal on how much money Greece gets, and in what form three sides of the old Troika restructure the debts in order to accommodate the softening of austerity implied in the low initial primary surplus targets being discussed. On this, I understand one option being discussed is the centralisation of Greece’s future debt obligations in the European Stability Mechanism, relieving possibly the IMF, and more probably the ECB, of the debt exposure to Greece. This is in order to do a deal on debt sustainability that the IMF can sign off, and to remove the perceived conflict of interest between the ECB as lender and the ECB as prime mover killing or curing the banks of the state it has lent to. . . . With a low primary surplus target, and a clear rescheduling or restructuring of the debt, Tsipras could present the deal as strategic settlement: cementing his party in power to pursue the long-term anti-poverty, democratisation and anti-corruption policies that its younger supporters see as important. The wild card in the whole situation is no longer German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble. It is the ECB. At the traumatic 20 February Eurogroup in Brussels it was clearly signalled that, if the lenders gave a verbal acknowledgement of progress towards a deal, the ECB should restore its normal lending facilities, and raise the cap on the amount of money Greece is allowed to borrow short term, form its banks. Though progress has been verbally signalled, the ECB has refused to soften; and while Greek negotiators are now on tough-talking terms with their counterparts in Brussels, and in the EU structures, the Greek representation on the ECB remains only the Bank of Greece. And the Greek central bank’s officials issued anonymous briefings last week, transparently designed to sap confidence in the banking system rather than build it. . . . Greek Private Deposits Hit Their Lowest Level Since 2004 by Katerina Papathanasiou The Greek Reporter, May 29 <http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/05/29/greek-private-deposits-hit-their-lowest-level-since-2004> Amid fruitless negotiations between Greece’s anti-austerity coalition government and its international creditors over the terms of the current bailout program, Greek bank deposits fell in April to 139.4 billion euros, down from 145 billion euros in March, according to data released by the European Central Bank (ECB) on Friday. The new level of private deposits in Greece is the lowest since September 2004 due to the continuous uncertainty and fears about Greece’s future in the European Union. With the pace of outflows picked up and deposits dropping steadily since October, Greek lenders have lost access to capital markets and the European Central Bank’s financing operations. They are now dependent on Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) from the domestic central bank to plug the hole from deposit withdrawals and survive, while they are forced to participate in liquidity-draining auctions of government treasury bills. Greek Govt Would Need 30 Years to Audit All Suspected Tax Evaders by Philip Chrysopoulos The Greek Reporter, May 31 <http://greece.greekreporter.com/2015/05/31/greek-govt-would-need-30-years-to-audit-all-suspected-tax-evaders> The Greek authorities’ process of auditing suspected tax evaders is very slow, while the number of potential tax evaders is reaching 1.38 million. According to a report in Greek newspaper “Kathimerini,” financial prosecutor Panayiotis Athanasiou has written a 25-page report describing the inability of existing tax-auditing mechanisms and the inherent weaknesses of the Greek tax system to pinpoint potential tax evaders. The number of possible tax evaders is so large that it would take 30 years to audit them all under the existing auditing system and pace, tax officials estimate. However, the government is expecting substantial revenues from auditing the 1.38 million suspects. Greek authorities admit that the auditing process is moving at a snail’s pace. Out of the 2,062 names on the well-known Lagarde List, 478 have been investigated so far, and this list is the fastest moving. The Greek government also has a list of 54,246 people who sent funds abroad from 2009 to 2012 and just 588 of them have been investigated. There is also the so-called Luxembourg list, a list of Greeks with large properties in the UK and 65 CDs with names of individuals with large deposits in Greek banks from 2000 to 2012. So far there have been probes on just 35 names from the Luxembourg list. The pace is equally slow for Greeks who bought properties in the UK in the last few years. The list contains 306 names and just 32 have been investigated so far. As for the 65-CDs list, probe orders have only been issued for 61 people, and bank account and property confiscation orders for just 34. _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
