DESPERATE JOURNEY - Greek Residents vs Migrants

"In these parts of Greece, crisis is building between residents and migrants" PBS NewsHour 2/17/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Amid growing unrest in Greece, the government there is temporarily halting construction of permanent detention centers for asylum seekers.  Tens of thousands of migrants have been stranded in the country for more than four years, since its border with Macedonia was sealed and the European Union failed to find enough alternative destinations.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

"Yearning for ‘peace,’ when a Greek refugee camp has become hell" PBS NewsHour 2/19/2020

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Five years into Europe's migration crisis, the conditions in the notorious Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos are hellish.  Refugee children are especially vulnerable, facing hunger, bad sanitation and the threat of violence.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports that angry local residents are demanding a solution.

GREECE - The Brain Drain

"Brain drain and declining birth rate threaten the future of Greece" PBS NewsHour 11/13/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Seven years since the financial crisis shook Greece, many young people lack opportunity or hope for the future.  Austerity and financial insecurity have pushed the birthrate to all-time lows, and members of the younger generations are leaving Greece for better opportunities elsewhere, leaving experts worried about Greece’s very existence.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports.

PS:  Note the cats. 😉

GREECE - Ancient Whistling Language

"This ancient whistling language is in grave danger of dying out" PBS NewsHour 9/5/2017

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  In the Greek island village of Antio, home to the world's most endangered language, aging residents communicate across hillsides through whistles [language], a specific system of communication believed to date back to Ancient Greece.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports on how they hope to save their language from extinction and what it has in common with Twitter.

GREECE - Tsipouro Tax

"Greeks find tax hike on a traditional liquor hard to swallow" PBS NewsHour 10/30/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Amid the financial crisis, there's one EU-imposed austerity measure that's causing particular angst among Greek citizens; a tax hike on one of the country's favorite traditional liquors.  Greeks are worried that raising taxes on Tsipouro, a powerful, clear type of brandy, will hurt the industry and farmers.  Hari Sreenivasan reports.

HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour):  In a barn full of pungent fumes, Demetrios Papafigos is distilling, applying the techniques of monks who created this quintessentially Greek elixir in the 14th century.

This alcohol time capsule, in the central town of Tyrnavos, is at the heart of the latest tax dispute in a country that’s broke and under intense pressure to extract as much revenue as possible from its citizens.  Brewed from fermented grape skins, it’s a powerful (40-45% alcohol by volume), clear type of brandy, similar to Italy’s grappa, called Tsipouro.

DEMETRIOS PAPAFIGOS, Licensed Tsipouro home Brewer (through interpreter):  Tsipouro provides the grape growers with supplementary income.  Without it, the vineyards would have to be uprooted.  The vineyards wouldn’t survive otherwise.

They have only survived thanks to production of Tsipouro, because, during difficult times, when bad weather destroyed the crop, we could even distill damaged grapes and make some money.

HARI SREENIVASAN:  Fellow grape farmers from this close-knit community have joined Papafigos for lunch, washed down, of course, with Tsipouro.

If the European Union gets its way, the Tsipouro makers will have to pay double the alcohol excise duty, which is currently applied.  At the moment, the liquor enjoys a low taxation rate because it’s considered to be a traditional speciality, not one that’s mass produced.

And Antonis Giamelides, the technical director of the local cooperative, is deeply concerned.

ANTONIS GIAMELIDES, Technical Director, Tyrnavos Tsipouro Cooperative:  It’s a crazy situation.  We don’t know what will happen tomorrow.  If the excise taxes go up at that level, then it will destroy all the wine production in Greece, because these people will not be producing any grapes anymore, because it will not be profitable.

GREECE - Bailout and Political Consequences

"Deal struck, pain and political hurdles ahead for Greece" PBS NewsHour 7/13/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Greece struck a debt deal after a long night of negotiations with European creditors.  According to the preliminary deal, the nearly bankrupt country will receive a $95 billion bailout over three years, and be subject to tough austerity measures.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports from Greece and Judy Woodruff gets reaction from Eswar Prasad of Cornell University.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  The nation of Greece and its creditors reached a preliminary deal to avert immediate financial collapse, but it demands that the struggling country make major concessions and means continued sacrifice and hardship for its people.

NewsHour special correspondent Malcolm Brabant has this report.

MALCOLM BRABANT (NewsHour):  Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras emerged after a long night of bitter negotiations.

PRIME MINISTER ALEXIS TSIPRAS, Greece(through interpreter):  Until the end, we battled to get an agreement to get the country back on its feet.  We were faced with a very difficult decision within hard dilemmas.  We took the responsibility to decide in order to avert the most extreme plans by conservative circles in the European Union.

MALCOLM BRABANT:  German Chancellor Angela Merkel was one of those conservatives who ran a hard bargain with the Greeks.  They seemed ready to quit until European Council President Donald Tusk, who is also president of Poland, persuaded them to keep at it.

DONALD TUSK, President, European Council:  The decision gives Greece the chance to get back on track with the support of European partners.  It also avoids the social, economic and political consequences that a negative outcome would have brought.

MALCOLM BRABANT:  Meanwhile, in Athens, pensioners saw no reason to celebrate, as they queued up to withdraw money outside closed banks.

GREECE - Government Blinks on Bailout

"Greek government blinks with new bailout proposal" PBS NewsHour 7/10/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is now offering concessions to creditors, such as a higher sales tax and pension changes, in hopes of winning a new bailout worth nearly $60 billion.  Jonathan Rugman of Independent Television News reports on the response to the controversial package in Greece.

JUDY WOODRUFF (NewsHour):  Now, the drama in Greece heading toward a climax at a Sunday summit of European leaders.

The Greek prime minister has now offered concessions to creditors, ranging from a higher sales tax, the so-called VAT — VAT — to pension changes.  The goal?  A new bailout worth nearly $60 billion.

Jonathan Rugman of Independent Television News reports.

JONATHAN RUGMAN, Independent Television News:  Climbing the steps of Greece’s Parliament today, the members of a government forced into a last-minute climb down.  Days ago, they were railing against Greece’s creditors.  Today, they were talking up the chances of a new deal with them this weekend.

OLGA GEROVASILI, Greek Parliament Member (through interpreter):  I am certain we will reach an agreement.  There was never any doubt.  The battle was lengthy and long and will reach its conclusion by taking the steps you already know about.

JONATHAN RUGMAN:  And greeted like a conquering hero, Alexis Tsipras, the prime minister, who is now pushing through Parliament the kind of austerity 61 percent of Greek voters rejected last weekend, because money or lack of it talks.

These banks could be bankrupt by Monday, and so the government, it seems, has blinked.  Greece’s proposals are on time and to the kind of budget a wary Eurozone might accept, giving into more austerity, with a standard VAT rate at 23 percent beginning in October, reducing the 30 percent VAT tax break applied to tourism-rich Greek islands, corporation tax rising from 26 percent to 28 percent, as Greece’s creditors demanded, and raising the standard retirement age to 67 over the next seven years.

But what is Mr. Tsipras hoping to win in return?  Well, 53.5 billion euros in loans over three years and, crucially, restructuring the repayment of Greece’s vast debt, though the 13 billion euros in tax rises and spending cuts is at least four billion euros more than the package Greeks on Sunday voted against.

A new and lasting deal with Greece will depend on the Greeks actually doing what they say they will and not buckling under the weight of more austerity.  And Germany will need to agree on some form of debt relief which doesn’t leave German taxpayers feeling shortchanged.  But whatever the outcome of this weekend’s talks, Greece is heading for years of economic hardship and the debate over its Eurozone membership is very unlikely to stop.

GREECE - Economic Crisis, Life and Death

"Why the Greek crisis is a matter of life and death for some" PBS NewsHour 7/7/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  Greece traditionally has had a low suicide rate, but over five years of austerity, the country has seen an increase in the number of people taking their own lives.  And if the crisis gets worse, the number of suicides and other preventable deaths from lack of medical care or drugs is likely to rise.  Special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports from Athens.

GWEN IFILL (NewsHour):  Now another look at Greece, this time how its strained economy is affecting its people.

For the first four months of 2014, the budget for Greece’s 132 hospitals was $735 million.  This year, that number dropped to $50 million, a precipitous decline that has placed predictable stress on the nation’s medical system.  Now psychiatrists and other medical practitioners warn that deepening poverty will lead to an increase in suicides and preventable deaths.

NewsHour special correspondent Malcolm Brabant reports from Athens.

MALCOLM BRABANT (NewsHour):  It’s a letter that no one should have to read.  The suicide note left by 77-year-old pharmacist Dimitris Christoulas is now a treasured possession of his daughter, Emmy.

EMMY CHRISTOULAS, Daughter of Suicide Victim (through interpreter):  “If one Greek was to take up a Kalashnikov, I would be the second.  But since I am too old to react actively and physically, I find no other solution than that of a dignified exit before I begin searching through the garbage for my food.  I believe that, one day, because the younger generation have no future, they will take up arms and hang the traitors of the nation, just as the Italians did in 1945.”

MALCOLM BRABANT:  Christoulas shot himself beneath this pine tree in Athens’ Syntagma Square, where opponents urged Greek voters to reject the international austerity program in last weekend’s referendum.

One of the first on the scene was doorman Panos Kyriakopoulos

PANOS KYRIAKOPOULOS (through interpreter):  Everyone who works around here was dreadfully upset, as well as those who were passing by.  It was so unexpected, a man blowing out his brains in Syntagma Square.  It was terrible, just terrible.

GREECE - Financial Bailout Falters

"Greek bailout talks falter amid threat of default" PBS NewsHour 2/17/2015

GWEN IFILL (NewsHour):  The escalating standoff between Greece and other members of the European Union showed little sign of abating today, prompting more questions about whether the country might soon run out of money, whether it would agree to continuing austerity cuts, or possibly leave the Eurozone altogether.

The demand from the E.U. to Greece:  Agree to an extension of a quarter-trillion-dollar bailout program by Friday, or risk losing assistance altogether.

That is not something many Greek citizens want to hear.

COSTAS SKLIROPOULOUS, Greece (through interpreter):  I am angry with the logic of the European Union.  Perhaps we should consider from now on how this country will acquire a different policy, one that could possibly be outside the frame of the European Union.

GWEN IFILL:  Still, some have called on the popular new left-wing government to rein in its resistance to what they have termed an ultimatum.

GEORGE AVGERINOS, Greece (through interpreter):  I would have liked them to be more serious from the very beginning.  When you’re asking with your hand stretched out, you can’t have this attitude.

GWEN IFILL:  European nations have propped up Greek’s unsteady finances since 2010, in exchange for deep spending cuts.  But with unemployment topping 25 percent and shrinking bank deposits, many who voted for the new government blame the austerity itself for the country’s economic ills.

In Brussels today, the Greek finance minister, who campaigned on a promise to scrap the bailout, denounced a plan to extend it as absurd.  But he didn’t rule out a deal.

YANIS VAROUFAKIS, Finance Minister, Greece (through interpreter):  Well, the next step is the responsible step.  Europe will continue to deliberate in order to enhance the chances of, and actually achieve, a very good outcome for the average European

GWEN IFILL:  His German counterpart, speaking on behalf of the Eurozone, said Athens’ goal remains unclear.

WOLFGANG SCHAEUBLE, Finance Minister, Germany (through interpreter):  Greece needs to decide whether they want the program or not.  Nobody understands what Greece wants and if Greece knows what it wants.

"After an election built on promises, what can Greece’s new leadership deliver?" PBS NewsHour 2/17/2015

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  As bailout talks continue between Greece and other EU members without clear progress, the new Greek government’s election promises seem at odds with economic reality.  Gwen Ifill talks to Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics and journalist John Psaropoulos about the potential for a rude awakening for Greece and its new leaders.

GREECE - The Story of Athens' Parthenon

"Seeing the Parthenon through ancient eyes" PBS Newshour 2/6/2014

Excerpt

SUMMARY:  An icon of ancient democracy, the story and significance of Athens’ Parthenon has been reinterpreted by numerous cultures.  Joan Breton Connelly, author of “The Parthenon Enigma,” joins Jeffrey Brown to discuss the landmark’s meaning and whether the Parthenon sculptures (also known as the Elgin Marbles) should be returned to Greece.

GWEN IFILL (Newshour):  Taking a fresh look at a timeless treasure.

Jeffrey Brown has our book conversation.

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour):  It’s perhaps the most famous building in the world, the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.  Built in the fifth century B.C., it’s become a symbol of the very idea of democracy in Western civilization, as well as an architectural model for other important structures, including the U.S. Supreme Court.

A new book, “The Parthenon Enigma,” tells the story of the people who built it and how it’s been understood, rightly and wrongly, to our own day.

Author Joan Breton Connelly is a classical archaeologist and professor at New York University.

GREECE - An Economic Object Lesson for U.S.?

"Under Austerity, Greeks Feel Unfolding Social and Humanitarian Crisis" PBS Newshour 12/27/2012

Excerpt

SUMMARY: By the end of 2013, economists estimate Greece's recession will reach levels worse than the Great Depression in the U.S. With huge budget cuts, Greeks have been left with a small safety net even as they struggle to access basic needs. Jeffrey Brown reports how austerity measures have torn apart the social fabric of Greece.

Watch Under Austerity, Greeks Feel Unfolding Humanitarian Crisis on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

ECONOMICS - 'In the Center Ring' Greece, Again

"Protesters March on Greek Parliament to Protest Wage Cuts and Privatization" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 9/26/2012

Excerpt

JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour): The trouble in Greece today and in Spain overnight brought the plight of Europe's debt-ridden countries squarely back into the spotlight.

Street battles erupted in Athens, as nearly 70,000 people staged the largest demonstration since May of last year.

We have a report from James Mates of Independent Television News.

JAMES MATES: It's a sight that has become all too familiar in central Athens. A day supposed to have been about a general strike and peaceful protest turned quickly into ugly violence.

The police were prepared, but against volleys of petrol bombs, they could do little more than stand their ground and wait with tear gas and stun grenades to turn the mob back.

This is the first violent protest since a new government was elected three months ago, a government that is forcing through yet another round of punishing spending cuts.

In a country where one in four are already unemployed, perhaps one shouldn't be surprised that public anger at times tips over into violence. The morning had seen tens of thousands march on parliament demanding the government change course.

They know it's hopeless, of course. Their leaders are deep in negotiations with Europe and the IMF about cutting wages and pensions by anything up to 30 percent, and this in a city where already one in three businesses has closed.

MAN: We have to do something for our future to have a regular job, to have a family.

MAN: All of Europe should have a voice against these policies.

JAMES MATES: And there will be little reassurance of promises of no more cuts after these.

KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS, Greek parliamentarian: There is no scope for any further reductions in wages and pensions beyond this specific package. This is a commitment that the government has made.

JAMES MATES: The Greeks have been told that before.

KYRIAKOS MITSOTAKIS: Yes, they have been told that before. But should the government not meet that commitment, in my mind, that would mean the end of this government.

JAMES MATES: The protest was brief. It was all over within a couple of hours, but there are many difficult votes ahead now here in the Greek parliament and no one expects that to have been the end of the trouble.

"Spanish and Greek Responses to Debt Crisis Unleash Backlash from Citizens" (Part-2) PBS Newshour 9/26/2012

Excerpt

GWEN IFILL (Newshour): The violence in Athens came hours after police and demonstrators fought in the streets of Madrid, Spain. On Tuesday evening, 6,000 people marched on the national parliament building, protesting new austerity measures. Some threw rocks and bottles, and police fired rubber bullets; 38 people were arrested.

The scenes of unrest roiled European markets, and major indexes there fell 1 to 2 percent today.

For more on the economics and the politics at play in Europe, I'm joined by Jacob Kirkegaard of the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

HUMOR - Politics From the Humor Times

Humor Times

GREECE - Pro-Bailouts Win Election, Now What?

"Greece's Respite Met With Cautious Optimism" PBS Newshour 6/18/2012

Excerpt

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour): Europe cleared a major hurdle Sunday, as voters in Greece decided to stick with their bailout. But, today, new obstacles loomed on the road to the continent's financial security.

From newsstands in Athens, to the G20 summit at a Mexican resort, to financial markets, the election results from Greece were felt worldwide. Political parties who support staying in the European currency union and accepting the international bailout of Greece managed to win a majority in parliament on Sunday.

Antonis Samaras and his conservative New Democracy Party led the field with nearly 30 percent of the vote. He set to work today on forming a governing coalition likely with the Socialist Party.

GREECE - Elections and Global Economic Jitters

"How Greece's Election Could Shape Global Economy" PBS Newshour 6/15/2012

Excerpt

JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour): Leaders around the world are closely watching this weekend's elections in Greece, where the outcome could have serious repercussions for the global economy.

Polling stations across Greece were busy with pre-election activity today for the second time in six weeks. No party won enough support in last month's vote to form a government, forcing a do-over this Sunday. And the stakes are high for Greece, Europe and even the broader world economy.

The left-wing Syriza Party insists that, if it wins, it wants to reopen the part of the international bailout agreement that forced austerity measures on Greece. There had been fears of a Greek exit from the euro currency system and resulting turmoil in financial markets. Syriza's leader, Alexis Tsipras, however, now insists he is focused on improving the terms of the bailout and wouldn't quit the euro.

"Supporters of Bailout Claim Victory in Greek Election" by RACHEL DONADIO, New York Times 6/17/2012

EUROPEAN UNION - Economy and the 27-Ring Circus

"In Europe, Balancing Germany's Austerity Push With Hopes for Growth" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 5/24/2012

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour): There was no clear way forward today for European leaders, as economic problems reached new crisis points. The continent's debt burden has now been joined by looming recession and deepening political divisions.

New data showed a worsening economic contraction throughout Europe today. The gloomy news came the morning after an inconclusive meeting of European leaders in Brussels. The summit reinforced the divisions between the two top eurozone economies, France and Germany, a main issue: how to balance Germany's push for budget austerity with the new French government's emphasis on economic growth.

GUIDO WESTERWELLE, German foreign minister: For the German, government austerity is not everything.

JEFFREY BROWN: In fact, Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister, acknowledged today a need for a balanced approach, including growth policies.

He echoed comments reportedly made behind closed doors in Berlin by Chancellor Angela Merkel. But Westerwelle said one proposal to ease the crisis, by issuing so-called euro bonds to lower interest rates in debt- laden nations, would make matters worse.

GUIDO WESTERWELLE: We think that we cannot solve a debt crisis by making it easier to take up new debts. And if we allow to make it easier to take up new debts, we do not solve the crisis. From our point of view, we increase the difficulties and the problems that we have.

JEFFREY BROWN: Left unsaid, euro bonds would mean higher interest rates in Germany, which has benefited greatly from its lower borrowing costs.

But Francois Hollande, the new president of France, in office just 10 days, has promoted the euro bond idea. He again stressed the need for growth as he headed into last night's meeting in Brussels.

FRANCOIS HOLLANDE, French president (through translator): We must work based on economic challenges, like how to bring growth back, on financial challenges, how to bring back liquidity, but also on the political challenges. What do we want to do together in Europe? What kind of project do we have?

JEFFREY BROWN: Hollande was joined by Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy. His nation is imperiled by its enormous debt, but it's largely the byproduct of a burst housing bubble, not public overspending, as in some other eurozone nations.

MARIANO RAJOY, Spanish prime minister (through translator): For Spain, the most urgent thing is that we need financing, we need liquidity, and we need sustainability for the debt. There are many countries which are making enormous efforts in order to control their public deficits and make structural reforms.

JEFFREY BROWN: And, as elsewhere, there is increasing public pushback in Spain, with unemployment at a crushing 25 percent. Miners went on strike today, and protesters gathered outside the parliament to denounce labor reform.

NEFTALI RODRIGUEZ, civil servant (through translator): This will put an end to all the workers' rights that have been fought for 30 years. It leaves us workers sold out under the power of businessmen.

JEFFREY BROWN: But the businessmen are not immune either. This shop owner is shutting down after 40 years and liquidating his stocks of fabric and carpeting.

MANUEL AGUIRRE, business owner (through translator): Since 2009, it has been a torture. We have got to a point when this is impossible. Not only we do not have any profits, but we just can't keep our activity, guaranteeing the salaries of our staff.

JEFFREY BROWN: It was announced yesterday that Spanish banks badly damaged by the housing bubble will undergo an extensive audit to ensure that they can survive. Banks in Greece saw a modified run on their holdings earlier this week, as their fate in the Eurozone was openly debated in Brussels and on the streets of Athens.

A once-unthinkable return to the traditional drachma currency was on many Athenians' minds.

MAN (through translator): I prefer euro to drachma.

MAN: Euro is for Merkel, not for Greeks.

JEFFREY BROWN: Whether the Greeks stay with the euro may now rest on the outcome of elections next month. They were mandated after voting this month failed to produce a government.

"Fate of Eurozone: Back on the Brink?" (Part-2)
PBS Newshour 5/24/2012


COMMENT: When will the EU get its act together, not soon IMHO. This is bad since this effects our U.S. economy and the rest of the world.

As to the primary concern, Greece, they are paying for decades of bad economic policies. We should not be surprised that the Greek citizen does not want to pay the piper. This is a no-win situation.

OPINION - Greek Crises

"Not a Greek Problem" by Paul Krugman, New York Times 5/17/2012

Tim Duy has some harsh words for the European Central Bank among others, with which I agree completely. What strikes me is that even now there seems to be no willingness to accept the fact that this isn’t a Greek problem, or even a Spain/Italy problem; it’s a European problem.

The morality play the Germans like to tell about how the crisis countries got into trouble isn’t true, but even aside from that, the question is what you do NOW. And the key point is that there is no way out for the troubled countries if Europe as a whole is marked by low growth and low inflation.

Given that reality, lecturing Greek voters on responsibility, while hinting that maybe we’ll ease the terms a bit — oh, and it’s almost time for summer vacation! — just won’t cut it.

We need a conversion experience here, not in Athens, but in Berlin and Frankfurt. Otherwise, the game is almost over.

GREECE - The Lingering Question

"With Greece Bailout Comes Relief, Lingering Doubts" (Part-1) PBS Newshour 2/21/2012

Excerpt

RICHARD EDGAR, Independent Television News: Today, the Greek finance minister returned home with the news. Today's decision in Brussels, he says, in regards to the political, economic and social consequences, is perhaps the most important of the post-war era.

EVANGELOS VENIZELOS, Greek finance minister (through translator): We avoided the nightmare scenario yesterday -- or today in the morning, rather. We had a positive outcome, which, as I said in Brussels, was neither easy nor obvious.

RICHARD EDGAR: The aim is for Greek debt to fall to just over 120 percent of the country's GDP, a measure the size of its economy, in eight years' time.

But the European Commission's own research which emerged last night says the plan is accident prone and debt could swell dramatically, only falling back to today's levels in 2020, despite the bailout. It's concentrating minds elsewhere in Europe that this might not yet be over.

Here in the U.K., meeting the Spanish prime minister, David Cameron calls for financial protection.

DAVID CAMERON, British prime minister: What I would say is that Greece has made its choice. And we now have to focus on the next step, which is constructing a firewall that is large enough to prevent contagion within the Eurozone.

RICHARD EDGAR: And Spain may need that firewall. Markets are turning their attention to other countries in the Eurozone.

BILL BLAIN, market analyst: What we think could be the next stage is that the market refocuses on how Italy and Spain in particular restore their economic growth. So it may be over the next couple of weeks that we see a renewed crisis in the rest of Europe.

RICHARD EDGAR: On the streets of Athens, the reality of their situation is sinking in.

WOMAN: I believe that Greece won't bear this burden.

WOMAN: I have two children, and I'm just scared for them. They most probably want to go abroad and live abroad.

RICHARD EDGAR: The full consequences of this rescue are still to be felt. This is the first act of the Greek tragedy, not the last.

"After Second Bailout, Is Greece Still Likely to Default?" (Part-2)
PBS Newshour 2/21/2012

EUROZONE - Greece Bailout Approved

More Euros down a blackhole?

"Europe Agrees on New Bailout to Help Greece Avoid Default" by STEPHEN CASTLE, New York Times 2/20/2012

Excerpt

Greece finally secured its second giant bailout early Tuesday after euro zone finance ministers agreed to save it from bankruptcy in exchange for severe austerity measures and strict conditions.

After more than 13 hours of talks, the ministers approved a new bailout of 130 billion euros, or $172 billion, under which private investors in Greek debt will take even steeper losses than expected to help stave off the country’s imminent default.

“We have reached a far-reaching agreement on Greece’s new program and private-sector involvement,” Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxembourg, announced Tuesday morning.

The agreement could be a new turning point in the European debt crisis, which has raised questions about the viability of the euro itself.

Though the outcome had been predicted, the meeting in Brussels proved more grueling than expected as euro zone countries, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund wrestled through the night over a discrepancy in the amount of Greece’s debt to be reduced.

Under the bailout terms, which were not finalized until after 5 a.m. Tuesday, Greece will reduce its debt to about 120.5 percent of its gross domestic product by 2020, from about 160 percent now. Achieving a deal with that goal proved difficult because the steady deterioration of public finances in Athens have left the country’s creditors with problems in making the figures for the new bailout add up.

After several rounds of tough talks, representatives of banks that hold Greek bonds, who had agreed in October to take a 50 percent loss on the face value of their bonds, agreed to take a 53.5 percent loss on the face value, the equivalent to an overall loss of around 75 percent.

Meanwhile Greece will pay lower interest rates on its bailout loans, and the European Central Bank agreed to give up profits from Greek bonds bought at a discount, and to pass those gains back to the government in Athens. This will be done via euro zone member countries because of the Central Bank’s regulations.

Stricter rules on euro zone debt and budget deficits are already in place, and next week European leaders are expected to agree on a new, higher firewall for euro bloc countries that get into financial trouble, a step that policy makers hope will signal the beginning of the end of the crisis.

GREECE - Turmoil and the Soft-Shoe

"Greece Plunges into Turmoil After Austerity Vote" PBS Newshour 2/13/2012

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour): And we turn to the turmoil in Greece, and still no sure thing that Europe has solved its debt crisis.

We begin in Athens with a report from James Mates of Independent Television News.

JAMES MATES: The morning after a particularly violent night before. Even for a city that is well used to street protests and angry confrontations, the burning of 48 buildings, the looting of 150 more was something different.

These scenes last night in a major European capital were enough to make even the most optimistic fear for where we're heading, 100,000 on the streets and a hard-core so angry they struck out indiscriminately.

In parliament, M.P.s were voting as they had been ordered to by the Eurozone, but in doing so, the Greek body politic appeared to be suffering a collective nervous breakdown. One in six M.P.s were expelled from their parties last night. Two years ago, Greek conservatives were expelled after voting for austerity. Last night, they were chucked out for voting against it, and this the party likely to form the next government here.

ELENA PANARITIS, Greek politician: They don't want more austerity measures. That's pretty much the end of it. That's the bottom line. They have had seven austerity packages. I think they've had enough. And I understand them. You know, I believe that they've had enough.

JAMES MATES: Athenians surveying the damage today could only agree and found few grounds for optimism.

Is there worse to come? Is there?

WOMAN: I think so. I think this is not the end of it. And the whole Greek society right now is rather numb.

MAN: How worse can it get? I think then it's going to be like World War III.

JAMES MATES: Do you think that there might be worse to come?

WOMAN: Obviously, in three months, we will be here and we will see the same happening again.

JAMES MATES: Even after they withstood all of this in order to get their austerity package through, there are still voices in Europe who are asking whether the Greeks can be trusted, whether they have done enough, whether they should get their bailout money.

Without that money, Greece is bankrupt, and all bets are off. And, as last night proved, that will put us into very dangerous territory.

And now the soft-shoe....

"Greek Ambassador: 'Profound Structural Reforms' Necessary for Long-Term Recovery"
PBS Newshour 2/13/2012


....candidate for "Dance with the Stars?"

EUROZONE - From Greece and Italy

"Greece Reels as Government OKs More Austerity Measures" PBS Newshour Transcript 2/10/2012

JEFFREY BROWN (Newshour): And we turn to the European debt crisis in two parts.

The Greek government has signed off on a new round of austerity measures in exchange for another bailout. But European finance ministers say that may not be enough.

We begin with a report from Athens from James Mates of Independent Television News.

JAMES MATES: They thought they'd done what was required of them, passing another round of cuts to jobs, wages, and pensions, only to be told by the rest of the euro zone, that's not good enough.

The result was fury in Athens' central square. Through the trees, policemen, whose wages have been cut under the austerity package, are hit by petrol bombs. Six ministers have already had enough, resigning today from the government. The leader of the smallest of the three parties in the coalition has now withdrawn his support.

"I will not vote for more austerity," he told a news conference, amid complaints of being trampled by German boots.

That was a theme taken up by one paper here, who put German Chancellor Angela Merkel on its front page in Nazi uniform. That is how strong passions are running.

MAN: I don't want to leave my country, but I don't have a future here.

MAN: They have to vote, but not with a gun on their head.

JAMES MATES: The man holding that gun is the chairman of the countries that use the euro, and he's not loosening the purse strings.

JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER, Eurogroup: We cannot live with a system where promises are made and repeated and repeated, and where the implementation measures are from time to time too weak. So we are insisting on a real, true implementation.

JAMES MATES: And a vote in parliament, possibly as early as Sunday, that will attract another huge demonstration, it may make today's protests look like nothing more than a warm-up.

"Italy: Amid Eurozone Crisis, 'Going the Greece Way' Would Be Disastrous"
PBS Newshour 2/10/2012