Greece’s Finance Minister, Nadia Valavani, has resigned her position after telling Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that she couldn’t support the bailout measures.
“Alexis, I am ready to serve in any capacity to the end during challenges. However, when our delegation returned with liabilities that are ‘stillborn measures’ and at such a price [by the creditors in fulfilling the reforms program], once again when the dilemma appears of retreating or Grexit, it will be impossible for me to remain a member of the government,” reads Valavani’s letter of resignation.
This ‘capitulation’ is so overwhelming that it will not allow a regrouping of forces. With your signature there will be a deterioration in the status of an already suffering population, and this will be a tombstone around their necks for many years with little potential of redemption,” she wrote.
Valavani was in charge of taxation and overseeing privatization in the nation.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expanded on initial criticisms offered Tuesday of the deal between Tsipras and EU officials, saying that Greece’s debts now exceed $300 billion and that creditors will have to write off some of the debt if there is any hope of Greece repaying what it owes.
The European Commission has been critical of giving more money to Greece than what is already being offered.
“Greece has already received more international financing than all of Europe did from the U.S. Marshall Plan after the Second World War,” Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said.
Greece’s energy minister, Panagiotis Lafazanis, said Wednesday that even if the deal passes the Parliament, the country’s people will never accept it and unite against it.
The European Commission is warning the Spanish and Italian governments that their draft budgets for 2014 do not comply with new debt and deficit rules. The Commission also said that France and the Netherlands barely qualified for the new standards.
According to the European Union’s charter, countries that do not comply will likely have to revise their tax and spending plans before they can be submitted to national parliaments. The warning marks the first time the EC has taken this step.
Eurozone members states are required to cut deficits until they reach a balanced budget. They also have to reduce levels of public debt. The Commission usually gives countries flexibility if their deficit is below the EU ceiling of 3% of the nation’s gross domestic product.
The Commission said that France, while just below the 3% threshold, was making only “limited progress” in reforms.
The Eurozone economy grew by .1% from July to September in data released Thursday, down from .3% growth in the previous quarter.
European Commission officials are warning Russia to stop “unacceptable” threats against former Soviet states that have been looking to develop closer ties to the EU.
Russia banned imports of wine and spirits from Moldova in what’s believed to be a strike against the country for looking to work with the EU. Ukraine and Armenia have also said that Russia has taken action against them for looking into the EU. Continue reading →
The leaders of 11 European Union nations are putting plans in place to make the 27-nation bloc more of a “European government” that would direct elect it’s leader who then would appoint a continent-wide government.
The “Future of Europe Group” headed by German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle released a report that says the current Eurozone crisis has caused a “crisis of confidence” in the EU. A result of the crisis, the report states, is a necessity for a stronger European Commission and a directly elected head of the Commission. Continue reading →
Luis deGuindos, Spain’s economy minister, stated today that the country is on the verge of asking for a bailout as reported in various media sources.
Any decision on a bailout request would be dependent on the outcome of audits of all Spanish banks. The results of the audit are not expected until the end of June. Continue reading →
Amid concerns about looming bank failures in Spain, the European Commission is proposing providing bailout funds to banks directly rather than going through individual governments.
Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso cited the need for flexibility and speed in sending the funds directlyto banks. Also being placed on the table is a debate about creating a “banking union” similar to the Euro Zone.
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