Saturday, June 6, 2015

Tsipras: creditors absurd proposals – Il Sole 24 Ore

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This article was published June 6, 2015 at 8:10.

“It is appropriate for Greece’s creditors withdraw proposals” absurd, “” irrational “and” unrealistic “presented at the Brussels summit last Wednesday. With these harsh words, the Greek prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, has returned to the reform plan of the troika in return for loans frozen since last August.

“I hope that this proposal of the creditors is withdrawn, we can not accept in any way absurd proposals, “said Tsipras, who said he was” negatively surprised by the proposed Juncker. “

After a cold shower, Tsipras said that there has “never been closer” to a solution called negotiations. “Time is running out not only for Greece – said in front of the Hellenic Parliament – but for all of Europe.”

“Greece wants a final solution to the issue of debt sustainability that puts an end the scenario of Grexit, “said Tsipras who maintained moderate tone during his speech that lasted just over ten minutes by Parliament adding that the Greeks do not want the government to give in to blackmail. Reuters reports that the latest survey speaks of 60% of Greeks who support the hard-line government in negotiations with the troika.

These negotiations have seen Athens decide to postpone the payment to the IMF at the end of the month. The decision has added tension to the negotiations in progress.

The greek leader reiterated that the recovery of wage bargaining will proceed as the government promised in the election campaign. Tsipras has asked Parliament to support the continuation of negotiations with creditors putting at the center of discussions, the Greek proposal.

And as if the clock were back to 25 January, the day of victory of SYRIZA in the elections. Greek government sources have leaked that the plan of economic reforms proposed by the Troika to Greece in exchange for the release of loans by 7.2 billion euro, last tranche of the 240 billion euro total aid, does not take into account the negotiating progress made in the last four months and it represents a return to the past, to the request for application of the old agreement between the troika and the government Samaras.

“The text with the proposals of the greek government is not its electoral program, but a list of points on which there had been an agreement in Brussels Group”, stressed the Greek sources, according to which ‘ both sides have to commit to approach “to close a deal” acceptable to both parties. ” The proposal presented by the creditors to the prime minister Tsipras, the sources said, however, “does not take into account the four months of negotiations and return to the memorandum rejected the elections of January 25″.

“In Greece it is at stake democracy. This plan of creditors is simply unacceptable. It is an attempt to eliminate this government, democratically elected by the people greek, to hit him as an example for others and because it is the first European executive who dared to openly challenge the austerity and the German hegemony in Europe, “said Vassilis Primikiris, Member of the Central Committee of Syriza. “Ask how they did the lenders to increase the VAT from 13 to 23% on medicines, supplies of electricity and the basic necessities in a country on its last legs is unacceptable,” concluded Primikiris.

In this context convulsed Berlin denied rumors of possible disagreements between Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, who would greatly irritated that Merkel has convened, without telling prevetivamente, an emergency summit with French President , François Hollande, and the director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde, and other representatives of the European institutions. Irritation grew face of the activism that Merkel has shown in recent days on the front of Greece. According to Bild, Schaeuble would learn of the emergency summit only by accident.

What’s more the government greek presented in the margins to creditors a new proposal to restructure the debt, more specific than the previous, which provides a reducing public debt from the current 180% to 93% in 2020 and 60% in 2030.

The plan, prepared by the Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, provides that the European Stability Mechanism (Mes) is takes care of the Greek bonds currently held by the ECB, which have a total value of 27 billion euro. If the titles would pass by the ECB to Mes, Greece could enjoy lower rates and longer maturities. So Athens should no longer find in July and August compared with 6.8 billion euro to be repaid all’Eurotower. As for the repayment of the loan granted by ‘IMF, Athens offers immediate payment of 45% of the amount due (€ 9 billion) from interest derived from Greek bonds in the hands of the ECB. Athens suggests a haircut of 50% of the 144 billion euro loan contracted with the bailout fund EFSF and the increase in interest, from 2.5% to 5%. In this way Greece would get a reduction in the face value of the debt without too many losses for creditors.

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