Greece has overwhelmingly rejected Europe’s latest bailout package, plunging the country’s future in the Eurozone into jeopardy.
With all of the votes counted in a referendum that will shape the future of the continent, the ‘No’ campaign has a staggering 61 per cent of the vote – 22 points ahead.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande called for an EU crisis summit to find a ‘solution’ for Greece, with leaders set to meet in Brussels tomorrow.
Thousands of anti-austerity voters took to the streets in celebration as the leader of the pro-EU ‘Yes’ campaign resigned, but there were some minor skirmishes between protesters and riot police as tensions bubbled over.
But German politicians warned of ‘disaster’ as they accused Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras of ‘tearing down bridges’ between Greece and Europe, with stock markets expected to take a sharp hit when they open this morning.
The news comes as Yanis Varoufakis today made the shock announcement that he is resigning as Finance Minister with immediate effect despite playing a key role in securing the ‘No victory’.
Tag Archive: eurozone
Greece to introduce capital controls, keep banks shut as crisis deepens
Greece will introduce capital controls and keep its banks closed on Monday after international creditors refused to extend the country’s bailout and savers queued to withdraw cash, taking Athens’ standoff to a dangerous new level.
The Athens stock exchange will also be closed as the government tries to manage the financial fallout of the disagreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
Greece’s banks, kept afloat by emergency funding from the European Central Bank, are on the front line as Athens moves towards defaulting on a 1.6 billion euros payment due to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.
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Greece blamed the ECB, which had made it difficult for the banks to open because it froze the level of funding support rather than increasing it to cover a rise in withdrawals from worried depositors, for the moves.
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said the decision to reject Greece’s request for a short extension of the bailout program was “an unprecedented act” that called into question the ability of a country to decide an issue affecting its sovereign rights. “This decision led the ECB today to limit the liquidity of Greek banks and forced the central bank of Greece to propose a bank holiday and a restriction on bank withdrawals,” he said in a televised address.
Amid drama in Greece, where a clear majority of people want to remain inside the euro, the next few days present a major challenge to the integrity of the 16-year-old euro zone currency bloc. The consequences for markets and the wider financial system are unclear.
Greece’s left-wing Syriza government had for months been negotiating a deal to release funding in time for its IMF payment. Then suddenly, in the early hours of Saturday, Tspiras asked for extra time to enable Greeks to vote in a referendum on the terms of the deal.
Creditors turned down this request, leaving little option for Greece but to default, piling further pressure on the country’s banking system.
The creditors want Greece to cut pensions and raise taxes in ways that Tsipras has long argued would deepen one of the worst economic crises of modern times in a country where a quarter of the workforce is already unemployed.
Pro-European Greek opposition parties have united in condemning the decision to call the referendum on the bailout terms, but many people are supportive.
“I want him (Tsipras) to knock his fist on the table and to say ‘enough!’,” said Athens resident Evgenoula.
Many leading economists have voiced sympathy with the Greek government’s argument that further cuts in spending risk choking off the growth which would give Greece some prospect of servicing debts worth nearly twice its annual national income.
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› How much Greece owes to international creditors
› Fact box: Political scenarios for Greece as it heads to referendum
› Greek council recommends shutting banks for six working days
The IMF has pressed European governments to ease Athens’ debt burden, something most say they will only do when Greece first shows it is trimming its budget.
STOCKING UP ON CASH
Long lines formed outside many ATMs on Sunday, including some of 40 to 50 people outside some in central Athens.
The Bank of Greece said it was making “huge efforts” to ensure the machines remained stocked.
The German foreign ministry said tourists heading to Greece should take plenty of cash to avoid possible problems with local banks and some tourists said they were joining the ATM queues.
“I am trying to go over to the bigger banks,” said Cassandra Preston, a Canadian tourist. “I am here for another month and I would like to make sure I have some cash on me.” READ MORE
Please don’t worry if you can’t see the comedy, you will. Play the Specials and look at the photo, its fun
Get it yet? They’re all actors, its all a game. no really, everystep of the way now is a plan, wake up, it’s all a load a bollocks …. really ….. wake up Consciousshift2012
Hi make sure we’re doing our duty is it, or perhaps ensure that what is true in our hearts is made known to those who sleep.
June 20, 2015
Estonia’s President laughs at Ukraine’s demands: “Give me money, or I’ll shoot myself.”
Translated from Russian by J.Hawk
Estonia’s president Toomas Hendrik Ilves laughed at Ukrainians demanding EU membership for their country in the form of ultimatum: “if you don’t invite us to the EU, we won’t make reforms.” That’s what Estonia’s leader said during discussions at the GLOBSEC international security conference in Bratislava.
Ilves described Ukraine’s approach as “not constructive”, and reminding of a scene from a movie in which the robber threatens to commit suicide unless his victims give him money.
“Telling us that we won’t implement reforms until you give us what was promised (namely the membership), reminds me of a scene from some movie in which a robber enters a bank, puts a gun to his own temple, and says, ‘Give me money, or I’ll shoot myself.’ That’s not the right way. Promising the collapse of your own country unless it is admitted into the EU isn’t effective,” Ilves said, to the laughter and applause from the audience.
GLOBSEC list of participants also included Ukraine’s president Poroshenko, but his name was removed from the list of speakers yesterday. Organizers said that Ukraine’s leader did not warn of his absence.
J.Hawk’s Comment: Aside from the obvious, welcome, and long overdue fact of a Baltic state leader turning on Ukraine in such a visible fashion, it is notable that Poroshenko returned to Kiev in emergency mode. Makes one wonder what pressing need made his presence in Kiev a must? Neutralizing Nalivaychenko? Yelling at Yaresko? Vomiting all over the Volunteer Battalions?
Courtesy of Don DeBar:
Greece and its European Union creditors have been trading criticisms just a day before crucial negotiations in Luxembourg, the failure of which could result in the country’s exit from the eurozone.
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has described demands by the country’s rescue lenders to slash pensions “incomprehensible”, while EU officials say their compromise proposals already lean towards Greece’s side.
EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said on Wednesday, a day before Thursday’s crucial talks in Luxembourg, that Greece should offer a more realistic plan instead of complaining about the proposals made by the creditors.
“It is important that the Greek side actually not only communicates what they do not want to do, but also what they do want to do,” he said.
Greece needs more loans from its creditors before June 30, when its bailout programme expires and it is scheduled to make a debt repayment worth about $1.8 bn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The creditors want Greece to make economic reforms but Athens is baulking.
If no deal is reached, Greece would face “dramatic” economic consequences, the country’s own central bank has warned.
Retired General Waldemar Skrzypczak, an influential figure in the Polish military, says he withdraws all words of support for Ukraine due to the country’s sliding towards nationalism. Earlier he advocated supplying heavy weapons to Kiev.
The angry U-turn in attitudes towards the Ukrainian government was published on Friday in the Gazeta Prawna newspaper. Skrzypczak said he is outraged with a law that the Ukrainian parliament passed hours after Polish President Bronisław Komorowski spoke before the MPs to express support for Ukraine.
The law gave benefits to all people who fought for Ukraine’s independence throughput history. Those include fighters of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, or UPA, which was responsible for mass killings of Polish citizens in 1943-44. The tragic events are known as Volhynian slaughter in Poland.
“I realized that Ukraine has no concern for Polish people. I am talking about what happened in Volhynia, the slaughter of 100,000 Poles by the UPA,” the ex-general said.
“The UPA murdered my uncle. They nailed him with forks to a barn door. For what I know, he was dying maybe for three days. Their savagery was beyond imagination. And Nazi Germany didn’t invent the things the Ukrainians did to us. They hacked people with axes,” he added.
Skrzypczak said some polish politicians are living in illusion and would not criticize Ukraine to avoid sparking controversy.
“I wonder on what foundation is Ukrainian President Poroshenko building the future of Ukraine. Bloodthirsty nationalism? It’s frightening. I have long been telling that Ukrainians must get rid of nationalism, because otherwise cooperation with Poland would be very difficult if possible at all,” he said.
As early as January, Skrzypczak was calling on the Polish government to send some armor from its reserves to Ukraine to help its government ‘fight against Russia.’
Very concise film explaining how the US is taking us to world war.with Russia
consciousshift2012 