Category: Aggregated

Tune in for our live webcast featuring Jeffrey Steinberg tonight at 8PM Eastern.

Former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (1974-81), the architect of the would-be “United States of Europe,” has called for Greece to exit from the Eurozone and claims that the “pressure of speculative circles” is preventing it. His comments were published yesterday in an interview with the French daily Les Echos.

Giscard presents what is otherwise the typical monetarist argument for a Grexit, including the claim that the only way the Greek government can implement its policy is with a weak currency and devaluation so that it can become “competitive.” He says that both he and the German government at the time opposed Greece’s entry to the Eurozone in 2001, but the French government insisted, and this has proved to have been a “mistake,” he tells Les Echos.

“This process of an orderly exit,” Giscard continued, “should and can unfold in a non-conflicting way, in everyone’s mutual interest. It’s what I would call a ‘friendly exit’ [sic, in English], an exit in an amicable spirit….” But it is not being done “because of pressure from speculative circles.” Thus in his own way confirming that it is the derivatives bubble that is at stake.

Former French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (1974-81), the architect of the would-be “United States of Europe,” has called for Greece to exit from the Eurozone and claims that the “pressure of speculative circles” is preventing it. His comments were published yesterday in an interview with the French daily Les Echos.

Giscard presents what is otherwise the typical monetarist argument for a Grexit, including the claim that the only way the Greek government can implement its policy is with a weak currency and devaluation so that it can become “competitive.” He says that both he and the German government at the time opposed Greece’s entry to the Eurozone in 2001, but the French government insisted, and this has proved to have been a “mistake,” he tells Les Echos.

“This process of an orderly exit,” Giscard continued, “should and can unfold in a non-conflicting way, in everyone’s mutual interest. It’s what I would call a ‘friendly exit’ [sic, in English], an exit in an amicable spirit….” But it is not being done “because of pressure from speculative circles.” Thus in his own way confirming that it is the derivatives bubble that is at stake.

Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has submitted a new letter to the Eurogroup, comprising the 19 euro area finance ministers, stating the position of the Greek government and a request for an extension of the so-called loan agreement. No sooner was it submitted than the German government rejected it.

The moment European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas said that the Greek letter could be the basis for a “reasonable compromise,” the German Finance Ministry spokesman, Martin Jäger, said in an e-mailed statement that the Greek government is trying to agree to a bridge-financing without meeting the conditions of its existing rescue program, which of course means there will be no compromise.

The Greek Finance Ministry publicly released its letter, which calls again for a six-month extension of the “Master Financial Assistance Facility Agreement” so as to
“allow the European Central Bank to re-introduce the waiver in accordance with its procedures and regulations,” referring to reinstating the waiver on Greek bonds which allowed the ECB to issue normal liquidity to Greek banks.

Obviously the offending part of Athens’ letter, signed by Varoufakis, was the statement of purpose for the extension to negotiate a new “Contract for Recovery and Growth” that would
“enable the Greek government to introduce the substantive, far-reaching reforms that are needed to restore the living standards of millions of Greek citizens through sustainable economic growth, gainful employment and social cohesion.”
All of which is not in the original Memorandum of self-destruction that the previous Greek government had signed.

The humanitarian crisis which Athens has told the Eurogroup is its first priority, is demonstrated by a highly illustrated graph on keeptalkinggreece.com, which sandwiches the devastating figures between two halves of the title, “It’s More than Obvious That … The Current Program for Greece Has Failed.” The figures show that since 2009 GDP has decreased by 25%, unemployment has reached 27% and youth unemployment has reached 60%, meaning more than 1.2 million people have lost their jobs; 250,000 young Greek scientists have emigrated; 30% of Greek businesses have closed; salaries have been reduced by 40% and pensions by 50%; the poverty rate has increased by 100%; savings bank deposits declined by EU80 billion; households without electricity have increased by 250%; social security funds have dropped by EU35; and the richest 10% of the population own 56% of the wealth.