Financial Crisis in Greece

[makedonche]

Julie,
It won't be comical it will be enjoyable! But it will take longer than we expect for them to get their just desserts - they still wield substantial political clout, particularly with that fuckwit French president backing them up.

[Risto the Great]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8411749.stm

The Greek prime minister has unveiled a series of spending cuts, warning that the country is at risk of "sinking under its debts".

George Papandreou said the planned cuts would include a 10% cut in both social security spending, and overall government operating expenditures.

Calling for national unity, he vowed to reduce Greece's public deficit from the current 12% to under 3% by 2013.

He also announced a 90% tax on the bonuses of senior bank workers.

Other proposals include a cut in defence spending, pay and hiring freezes for public sector workers, and the closure of a third of Greece's overseas tourism offices.

"We must change or sink," said Mr Papandreou, in a speech to business and union leaders.

He added that Greece had "lost every trace of credibility" and the country had to "move immediately to a new social deal".

Indicating that some spending cuts would be painful, he said that "we must all lose our comfort".

'Not Iceland'

Mr Papandreou's comments come a week after international ratings agency Fitch downgraded the country's credit rating - meaning that it thought Greece was now a riskier place to invest.

Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou earlier defended Greece's position in the eurozone, despite its deficit being far above the European Union limit of 3%.

He said Greece was worthy of its place because it "abides by the rules" and was "not the only eurozone country with a deficit of that order".

Mr Papaconstantinou told the BBC: "Greece is not the next Iceland, nor is it the next Dubai... it is tackling the very serious situation that we have.

"It is doing it with specific measures that cut expenditure and increase government revenue and also it is a government which is immediately tackling long-term structural problems," he added.

Since last week's decision by Fitch, Greece has come under increasing pressure to take action over its deficit from the European Central Bank.

[Risto the Great]

When the Prime Minister says Greece has lost every trace of credibility, who are we to argue?

[The LION will ROAR]

The Hypocrisy of Greece
17.12.2009
read in Macedonian
http://www.jasonmiko.com/the-column-04.html

*

Foreign Minister Antonio Miloshoski said it best though he was more polite in the words he used after the EU Foreign Ministers meeting in Brussels the other week.* So I’ll say it here in plain, American, English (well, translated into Macedonian): Greece is a hypocrite. Through its recent actions, Greece is practicing the ancient art of hypocrisy.*


It is ironic to note the origins of the word hypocrisy; it’s Greek.* The original Greek word, hyopkrisis, is the act of playing a part on stage.* The Merriam Webster online definition is “a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially: the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion.”*


After winning the October elections in Greece, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou told the world that Greece wanted to reassert its role in Southeastern Europe and see all of the countries from the region in the EU by 2014, 100 years after the start of World War I.* After he told the world this, he went and effectively vetoed a start date for Macedonia’s accession talks with the EU at the Foreign Minister’s meeting the other week in Brussels.* George Papandreou, actor. *


To be completely honest, I’ve had it with the Greeks.* And I’m not even Macedonian, nor am I a European.* The Greeks have lied, cheated, vetoed, bullied, threatened and blackmailed the world for the past 50 years, if not longer.* Why the world takes it – why the world considers them so precious – is a mystery to me.* They cry and the world gives them a bottle of milk.* They scream and the world holds them.* They take and the world gives.* There’s a phrase for this type of behavior: spoiled rotten.* And the Greeks are.*


But events of the past week have now revealed the truth behind the stage play the Greeks have been showing the world.* I speak of the financial disaster now called Greece.*


This past week there have been literally thousands of articles in the press detailing Greece’s economic woes.* Time magazine reports “Years of debt-fueled consumption and lax fiscal policies have left the country drowning in red ink. National debt is expected to rise to 125% of GDP in 2010, the highest in the eurozone. ‘If you want an example of a political elite that thought membership of the eurozone was a panacea,’ says Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London, ‘you don't need to look further than Greece. They're in very serious trouble.’” *


Reuters reported that “Fitch Ratings downgraded its credit rating on Greece to triple-B-minus from single-A-minus, highlighting "concerns over the medium-term outlook for public finances given the weak credibility of fiscal institutions and the policy framework in Greece.”* Chris Pryce of Fitch Ratings said ‘Greece is now clearly the weakest country in the euro zone.’”*


And The Economist noted “The country that stands out as unrepentant is Greece. It ran persistent deficits even in good times. Its new government said in October that this year’s budget deficit would be more than twice as big as previously advertised. The government says it will cut the deficit to 9.1% of GDP next year. But pressure from euro-zone finance ministers for stronger action is building: they will meet in February to approve a new Greek plan to fix its finances, which must be submitted to the European Commission this month.”*


The Greeks lied their way into the Eurozone and have bullied the EU on many issues – besides Macedonia – for decades.* They have falsified their balance sheets and other financial records.* But now the truth is coming out.* Now the truth is being revealed that the Greeks may actually be Europe’s Achilles heel – more so than any other country.*


Another Reuter’s article reported Prime Minister Papandreou saying “We must close the credibility gap to survive as a sovereign and cohesive nation.”* Well, you got that right George.* A lack of credibility has been one of Greece’s biggest problems though it is only now being revealed to the world.* Their lack of trustworthiness is shining through.*


Hopefully, the Greeks may actually be worried about their place in Europe and the world right now.* They faced unprecedented pressure from the rest of Europe at the Foreign Minister’s meeting with one German MEP actually suggesting that Greece should leave the EU.* While up to now the Greeks have been the bully of Europe, sitting smug and self-satisfied while they get their way by alternately crying or pushing, the time may be coming when the rest of Europe – and the world – actually stands up to them and says “Enough!”* The stage play that is called “Greece” may be coming to an end, with the members of the cast being revealed for what they truthfully are – really bad actors.

Jason Miko is an independent thinker, writer and a bit of a traveler. His views are his own.

[Risto the Great]

Jason, you are an independent thinker, but many are thinking in the same way about Greece nowadays.

[TrueMacedonian]

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/24806744-f...44feabdc0.html

Brussels attacks Greece over false data

By Tony Barber in Brussels and Kerin Hope in Athens

Published: January 13 2010 02:00 | Last updated: January 13 2010 02:00

Greece was condemned by the European Commission yesterday for falsifying data on its public finances and allowing political pressures to obstruct the collection of accurate statistics.

In a damning report published as the eurozone grapples with its worst financial crisis since the euro's launch in 1999, the Commission said figures from Greece were so unreliable that its budget deficit and public debt might be even higher than the government had claimed last October.

At that time Greece estimated its 2009 deficit would be 12.5 per cent of gross domestic product, far above 3.7 per cent predicted in April. It revised its 2008 deficit up to 7.7 per cent from 5 per cent.

The data shocked and angered Greece's 15 eurozone partners and prompted swift downgrades of Greek debt as well as an increase in the premium demanded by financial markets to buy Greek bonds.

The socialist government is promising to cut sharply its deficit to 3 per cent or less by 2012 but financial markets question whether it can introduce the drastic austerity measures implied by such a target without sparking labour unrest and social disorder.

The Greek finance ministry said the Commission report reflected the app-roach of previous governments, not the current one. "We're in the process of changing the way statistics are collected and analysed," it said.

Separately, an International Monetary Fund technical team arrived in Athens yesterday in response to a Greek request for help with a radical overhaul of the tax system due to be completed in March.

"There is absolutely nothing on the agenda about loans and borrowing [from the IMF]," the ministry said. It dismissed speculation the government might turn to the IMF for assistance if the public finances deteriorated.

The Commission, which is responsible for upholding the eurozone's fiscal rules, made clear in its report that it had next to no faith in Greek statistics. "The current set-up does not guarantee the independence, integrity and accountability of the national statistical authorities," it said.

The Commission denoun-ced "poor co-operation and lack of clear responsibilities between several Greek institutions and services . . . diffuse personal responsibilities, ambiguous empowerment of officials, absence of written instruction and documentation, which leave the quality of fiscal statistics subject to political pressures and electoral cycles".

The report listed categories in which, it said, Greece had deliberately mis-reported data last year, including revenues from abolished extra-budgetary accounts, swaps write-offs, adjustment for interest payments, European Union financial grants and hospital liabilities. Hundreds of millions of euros were involved in each case.

[TrueMacedonian]

http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxn...action=article

Greece says no skeletons in closet

BERLIN, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told a German newspaper on Tuesday that Greece had no more "skeletons in the closet" and the country had a solid basis for cutting its deficit.
"We have no more skeletons in the closet ... we now have a solid basis to reduce our deficit in coming years. We will reduce our deficit to under 3 percent of GDP by 2012," he told Handelsblatt daily.
He also said Greece had to reform its tax and pension system and that it did not need a bailout.


(Writing by Madeline Chambers) Keywords: GREECE FINMIN/SKELETONS (made[email protected]; +49 30 2888 5230; Reuters Messaging: [email protected])


Someones in denial in modern "greece"

[Risto the Great]

Greece simply cannot be relied upon to be truthful.
The worst part of it is the many Greek citizens who are sniggering saying "ha ha, we fooled them".

[Soldier of Macedon]

Of course they are, those same type of citizens have been doing it to their idiot sponsors of Europe for the last 200 years.

[Dejan]

Dedo bozhe works in mysterious ways. These pretenders are are slowly being punished