August 12, 2012
Kathimerini: Greece "Sacrificial Lamb"
"Greece should be punished"
eKathimerini commentary on the situation:
"Recently, an experienced US analyst spoke of a rather worrying exchange that he had in Berlin. The American had supposedly argued in front of some German officials that it would be cheaper to back Greece for a while longer since it was nearing the end of its fiscal tunnel, rather than shoulder the big, and quite unpredictable, cost of a euro exit. Their response was that, first, Greece should be punished for not making good on its pledges and, secondly, that the markets would be stunned by a possible Grexit and therefore make things easier for the eurozone to support the rest of the debt-hit periphery."
Meanwhile, at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Secretary General Angel Gurria:
"German newspaper Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung published on Saturday, the OECD chief joined the chorus of prominent economists supporting Greece’s continued presence in the single-currency bloc, on the condition that the government respects the conditions of its agreement with creditors. However, the Mexican said, Athens should be given some slack in meeting the tough terms in view of a deepening recession."
The inspectors from the troika (European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank) report in eptember whether Greece should receive the next tranche payment as part of the 'bailout' agreed to last year: €107 billion write-off of existing Greek debt, and €130 billion in new funds.
Related:
2011 – Creating the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) & the "PIIGS"
2017 – Another Greek Economic Crisis?
The Drachma almost returned to Greece 2013–2017
Greek economic Survival in the 1990s
Greece's Golden Visa program
