Greece’s prime minister Alexis Tsipras has vowed his government will
not succumb to “blackmail”, as he defied Brussels by pressing on with
the reversal of reforms agreed under the country’s bailout package.
Speaking at the Greek parliament after EU finance ministers renewed calls for Athens to seek an extension of its rescue programme, Tsipras vowed to deliver the anti-austerity policies that swept his leftist coalition to power in January.
“There has been a custom that newly elected governments act differently from their pre-election promises. I am saying it again, we are thinking of actually implementing our promises for a change.”
In a sign of Greece’s uncompromising stance, Tsipras announced he was reinstating the right of Greek workers to set collective pay deals, as part of a broader effort to tackle Greece’s “humanitarian crisis”. Collective bargaining was curtailed by the troika - the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank - the trio of institutions that has overseen Greece’s €240bn (£178bn) bailout.
Tsipras said he was in no rush and would not give in to “blackmail” from technocrats - a new hint that he hoped EU leaders would step in and clinch a political agreement with him, which they declined to do last week. EU officials were trying to work out whether his fierce rhetoric was aimed at bolstering domestic support to avert any backlash against eventual compromise, or signalled he was retreating from a deal.
Tsipras said that Greece can no longer be treated like a colony, or a European pariah.
“For the first time, our country has its own voice, which is being heard also in the streets of Europe.”
“We may not have solved all our problems in the last three weeks, but Greeks no longer feel humiliated....they feel proud and dignified, he said.
However, the defiant tone was echoed in Brussels, where Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairman of the eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, insisted Greece had to make the next move. Greece has edged closer to a disorderly exit from the single currency after a eurogroup meeting over the country’s bailout programme broke up acrimoniously on Monday as the Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, refused to seek an extension of the current bailout programme.
Speaking at a meeting of European Union finance ministers on Tuesday, which took place after the eurogroup gathering, Dijsselbloem said: “I hope [Greece] will ask for an extension to the programme, and once they do that we can allow flexibility, they can put in their political priorities.”
Dijsselbloem has laid down a deadline of Friday for Greece to ask for an extension to its bailout deal, which is due to expire on 28 February.
The ECB will also decide on Wednesday whether to keep emergency funds on tap for Greece, with the Frankfurt-based institution expected to maintain its support. Greek banks are estimated to have benefited from around €58bn under the ECB’s Emergency Liquidity Assistance programme, although the ECB refused to confirm these figures.
Despite mounting speculation the ECB could stop the funds to force Greece to a deal, insiders are not expecting the bank to pull the plug tomorrow, when tits governing council holds a routine meeting to discuss the programme. “There is no sudden end of ELA expected this week,” a source told Reuters.
Meanwhile, the UK chancellor, George Osborne, warned that Britain’s economic stability would be rocked if a deal cannot be reached on Greece’s bailout.
“We are reaching crunch time for Greece and the eurozone, and I’m here to urge all sides to reach an agreement, because the consequence of not having an agreement would be very severe for economic and financial stability,” Osborne said outside the EU finance minister’s meeting.
“What Britain really needs to see is competence not chaos.”
Analysts at Commerzbank said the chances of Greece leaving the eurozone were now as high as 50%.
Tsipras retorted that Greece should not pity people who raise their heads high and accused Schäuble of losing his cool at Monday’s meeting. But he condemned a cartoon of Schäuble in a Nazi uniform that was recently published in a Greek newspaper, saying that it did not represent the government’s position.
Schäuble said he had nothing to reproach his Greek colleagues for. He added that no one was forcing Greece to stay in the bailout programme. “Sometimes I have the feeling that in Athens they don’t know what they want and how things will work out.”
Despite the impasse, European markets did not panic yesterday, although key indices moved lower . Greece’s main index fell 2.5%, after an initial near 5% fall with shares in some banks down by 9%. The main stock markets in France and Germany were slightly down, although the FTSE 100 rose 0.6%.
Luxembourg’s finance minister, Pierre Gramegna, said both sides would have to make concessions. “We can’t remain in a blockade so everyone has to move a bit, water down demands so we can find a compromise.”
Speaking at the Greek parliament after EU finance ministers renewed calls for Athens to seek an extension of its rescue programme, Tsipras vowed to deliver the anti-austerity policies that swept his leftist coalition to power in January.
“There has been a custom that newly elected governments act differently from their pre-election promises. I am saying it again, we are thinking of actually implementing our promises for a change.”
In a sign of Greece’s uncompromising stance, Tsipras announced he was reinstating the right of Greek workers to set collective pay deals, as part of a broader effort to tackle Greece’s “humanitarian crisis”. Collective bargaining was curtailed by the troika - the European Commission, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank - the trio of institutions that has overseen Greece’s €240bn (£178bn) bailout.
Tsipras said he was in no rush and would not give in to “blackmail” from technocrats - a new hint that he hoped EU leaders would step in and clinch a political agreement with him, which they declined to do last week. EU officials were trying to work out whether his fierce rhetoric was aimed at bolstering domestic support to avert any backlash against eventual compromise, or signalled he was retreating from a deal.
Tsipras said that Greece can no longer be treated like a colony, or a European pariah.
“For the first time, our country has its own voice, which is being heard also in the streets of Europe.”
“We may not have solved all our problems in the last three weeks, but Greeks no longer feel humiliated....they feel proud and dignified, he said.
However, the defiant tone was echoed in Brussels, where Jeroen Dijsselbloem, chairman of the eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, insisted Greece had to make the next move. Greece has edged closer to a disorderly exit from the single currency after a eurogroup meeting over the country’s bailout programme broke up acrimoniously on Monday as the Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, refused to seek an extension of the current bailout programme.
Speaking at a meeting of European Union finance ministers on Tuesday, which took place after the eurogroup gathering, Dijsselbloem said: “I hope [Greece] will ask for an extension to the programme, and once they do that we can allow flexibility, they can put in their political priorities.”
Dijsselbloem has laid down a deadline of Friday for Greece to ask for an extension to its bailout deal, which is due to expire on 28 February.
The ECB will also decide on Wednesday whether to keep emergency funds on tap for Greece, with the Frankfurt-based institution expected to maintain its support. Greek banks are estimated to have benefited from around €58bn under the ECB’s Emergency Liquidity Assistance programme, although the ECB refused to confirm these figures.
Despite mounting speculation the ECB could stop the funds to force Greece to a deal, insiders are not expecting the bank to pull the plug tomorrow, when tits governing council holds a routine meeting to discuss the programme. “There is no sudden end of ELA expected this week,” a source told Reuters.
Meanwhile, the UK chancellor, George Osborne, warned that Britain’s economic stability would be rocked if a deal cannot be reached on Greece’s bailout.
“We are reaching crunch time for Greece and the eurozone, and I’m here to urge all sides to reach an agreement, because the consequence of not having an agreement would be very severe for economic and financial stability,” Osborne said outside the EU finance minister’s meeting.
“What Britain really needs to see is competence not chaos.”
Analysts at Commerzbank said the chances of Greece leaving the eurozone were now as high as 50%.
After the eurozone finance ministers again failed to reach an agreement with Greece today, the euro membership of the country hangs in the balance. Before yesterday’s failed meeting, Commerzbank rated the chances of Greece leaving the currency bloc at 25%.”Accusations have been flying since Monday’s meeting ended in disarray. On Tuesday Tsipras took aim at Germany’s finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, who said recently that he felt sorry for Greeks.
Tsipras retorted that Greece should not pity people who raise their heads high and accused Schäuble of losing his cool at Monday’s meeting. But he condemned a cartoon of Schäuble in a Nazi uniform that was recently published in a Greek newspaper, saying that it did not represent the government’s position.
Schäuble said he had nothing to reproach his Greek colleagues for. He added that no one was forcing Greece to stay in the bailout programme. “Sometimes I have the feeling that in Athens they don’t know what they want and how things will work out.”
Despite the impasse, European markets did not panic yesterday, although key indices moved lower . Greece’s main index fell 2.5%, after an initial near 5% fall with shares in some banks down by 9%. The main stock markets in France and Germany were slightly down, although the FTSE 100 rose 0.6%.
Luxembourg’s finance minister, Pierre Gramegna, said both sides would have to make concessions. “We can’t remain in a blockade so everyone has to move a bit, water down demands so we can find a compromise.”
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