MADRID | By Antonio Sánchez-Gijón at CapitalMadrid | On May 9 the European Union will deliver Charlemagne Prize to Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite. The idea is not to reward her as a former EC Commissioner, but as the person who embodies the success of three small countries of Northern Europe out of their deep economic crisis in two years. While the populations of the Mediterranean Europe and France are raised in arms against austerity policies imposed from Brussels and Frankfurt to exit the stagnation and save the euro, two European Baltic nations are looking forward to joining the common currency.
“Greece needs use drachma with euro to balance its accounts”
MADRID | An interview by Tania Suárez | The Greek labyrinth does have an exit, but creditors must acknowledge there are losses to bear. After all, says Hanseatic Brokerhouse’s director Gabriel Montalto, a so-called Grexit would force Germany to assume up to 80 percent of losses.
Eurogroup’s official statement on Greece: more time, more pain
The Eurogroup recalls that a full staff-level agreement has been reached between Greece and the Troika on updated conditionality programme and that, according to the Troika, Greece has implemented all agreed prior actions.
Some choices to sort the Greek out
How will the Greek debt be reduced to bearable levels? There are only two simple solutions. Either Interest payments for the outstanding public debt should be paused for a period of 5 years, or the ECB directly funds any financial needs Greece has.
Greece deserves better
Constantly struggling to keep up with the austerity imposed by the Troika, Greece has managed to cut public spending much more efficiently than it’s acknowledged. Economic recovery, though, is still nowhere to be seen. The IMF is right to rethink the current policies before it is too late.
Austerity and poverty in Greece: more that meets the eye
Don’t just blame austerity, says policy adviser Manos: Greece’s welfare state has for years been the worst in the OECD at tackling poverty. And it isn’t alone. Estonia, Malta and the Czech Republic have similar levels of food poverty as Greece’s among households with dependent children.
European banks flee Greece
José Luis Marco, CAPITAL MADRID | Although Spanish banks have little direct exposure in Greece, the country over which hangs the euro zone exclusion threat, something different happens with several European banks: they have a direct interest in the Hellenic country both with their branches in the country and with the assumption of Greek sovereign [...]
China urges Europe to work on its debt
China is willing to help, but everyone has limits. Premier Wen Jiabao told visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel at a state visit in Beijing on Thursday that Beijing plans to continue buying European sovereign debt, the strongest sign of support for its biggest trading partner in months, although it urged further measures to be taken. [...]
“Grexit would be good for the euro, but not for German exports”
By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | Fernando Luque is analyst and editor for Morningstar. In a conversation with The Corner, he said that Greece will not withdraw the euro because “that possibility is no good for anybody, neither for Greece, nor for Germany.” Luque explains that there are no shortcuts to solve the Greek crisis, [...]
“The European Central Bank could cope with another Greek debt haircut”
By Tania Suárez, in Madrid | Alberto Matellán is director of strategy and macroeconomics at Inverseguros SVB. In a conversation with The Corner, he said that even if Spain doesn’t formally request a bailout, “it will be necessary some kind of intervention.” However, he points out that the possible Spailout would be met via different [...]
