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live The fall of Papandreou: Eurogroup will not discuss the sixth bailout tranche to Greece

04 November 2011 / 17:11:25  GRReporter
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The bailout to Greece is not included in the programme of the meeting of eurozone finance ministers Eurogroup planned for Monday. This became clear shortly after the Greek Minister of Finance Evangelos Venizelos officially announced that the presence of the country in Brussels early next week was certain.

Whatever the ambitions of the Greek minister of finance, the issue of the bailout to the country will not be on the agenda of the meeting of eurozone finance ministers because nobody obviously believes that the Greek problem is a storm in a tea-cup. The decision to release the sixth instalment of the eurozone participation in the rescue mechanism to support Greece will not be taken at the next meeting of the Council of Ministers of Finance on Monday as planned in the agreement of October 26.
 
Eurozone countries provide two thirds of the bailout and the International Monetary Fund grants another third. The European Commission and the European Central Bank share in the sixth instalment is € 5.8 billion. Political developments in Greece and uncertainties associated with the implementation of the agreed decisions prevent the European partners from giving approval. It is not yet known what will happen to the € 2.2 billion share of the International Monetary Fund in this tranche.

According to billionaire George Soros and many other economists, Greece is facing the real danger of an uncontrolled bankruptcy. The investor said that any reduction of the Greek foreign debt should be made in a coordinated manner and the authorities should ensure that Greek banks would remain viable and citizens' deposits would be safe. Without financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission, these recommendations are difficult to implement and Greece would most probably collapse financially.

Greece is now surviving without the sixth tranche having suspended all domestic payments, except for pensions and public sector wages. Next Tuesday, the Public Debt Management Agency will issue six-month bills, which it hopes will raise about one billion euros, apparently regardless of how high the interest rate will be. The money will be needed to cover the holes in the budget immediately, until the political situation in the country becomes clear.

 

Tags: PoliticsEurogroupSixth trancheUncontrolled bankruptcyGreece
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