SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Protesters dressed as prisoners gather during an event to protest against austerity measures outside the Greek parliament in Athens, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Greece Gets Ultimatum: Accept Austerity Plan or Forego Extra Bailout Cash
Nov 02, 2011
Greece has been given an ultimatum that it will get no more money from the European Union and International Monetary Fund until its people have voted to accept the austerity measures demanded by the bailout package.
The latest tranche of bailout aid, worth EUR8bn (PS7bn) and agreed just two weeks ago, is seen as vital for ensuring that Greek public sector workers can continue to be paid. But it will now be delayed until after the country decides in a referendum whether it accepts the new rescue package or even wants to stay in the euro.
The threat to send Greece closer to bankruptcy emerged on the margins of the G20 summit in Cannes - due to start on Thursday - and follows a blunt warning from Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the eurogroup, that the sixth tranche of the original EUR110bn bailout was now in jeopardy.
Speaking after the bombshell decision of Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, to hold a referendum, Juncker, Luxembourg's veteran prime minister, asked: "Can we under these conditions pay out the sixth tranche, the EUR8bn, that we decided upon two weeks ago when we don't know whether the Greeks still agree with what was agreed?"
The EUR8bn was due to be paid in mid-November but German officials are suggesting that Greece - which has EUR360bn debts and GDP of just EUR220bn - can survive until mid-December without the payment. The likely dates for the referendum are thought to be 5 or 12 December.
The IMF board had yet to endorse the payout of the sixth tranche, but it is now thought that meetings of both the 17-strong eurogroup of finance ministers and the broader EU group including non-eurozone ministers could formally decide to withhold payment early next week in Brussels.
However, there remains doubt whether the referendum will ever be held, given the fragile hold on power that Papandreou has before Friday's confidence vote on his government. There is also confusion about what exactly the Greek public will be asked. Some suggest the vote will only be on the bailout package, while others claim it will be on membership of the EU.
Stockmarkets have regained some composure after Tuesday's sell-off, but EU officials are angry that Papandreou's action has guaranteed weeks, if not months, of political uncertainty and market volatility. France's prime minister, Francois Fillon, told his parliament: "Europe cannot be kept waiting for weeks for the outcome of the referendum. The Greeks must say quickly and without ambiguity whether they choose to keep their place in the eurozone or not".
On January 20th, it begins...
Political revenge. Mass deportations. Project 2025. Unfathomable corruption. Attacks on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Pardons for insurrectionists. An all-out assault on democracy. Republicans in Congress are scrambling to give Trump broad new powers to strip the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit he doesn’t like by declaring it a “terrorist-supporting organization.” Trump has already begun filing lawsuits against news outlets that criticize him. At Common Dreams, we won’t back down, but we must get ready for whatever Trump and his thugs throw at us. Our Year-End campaign is our most important fundraiser of the year. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. By donating today, please help us fight the dangers of a second Trump presidency. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Greece has been given an ultimatum that it will get no more money from the European Union and International Monetary Fund until its people have voted to accept the austerity measures demanded by the bailout package.
The latest tranche of bailout aid, worth EUR8bn (PS7bn) and agreed just two weeks ago, is seen as vital for ensuring that Greek public sector workers can continue to be paid. But it will now be delayed until after the country decides in a referendum whether it accepts the new rescue package or even wants to stay in the euro.
The threat to send Greece closer to bankruptcy emerged on the margins of the G20 summit in Cannes - due to start on Thursday - and follows a blunt warning from Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the eurogroup, that the sixth tranche of the original EUR110bn bailout was now in jeopardy.
Speaking after the bombshell decision of Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, to hold a referendum, Juncker, Luxembourg's veteran prime minister, asked: "Can we under these conditions pay out the sixth tranche, the EUR8bn, that we decided upon two weeks ago when we don't know whether the Greeks still agree with what was agreed?"
The EUR8bn was due to be paid in mid-November but German officials are suggesting that Greece - which has EUR360bn debts and GDP of just EUR220bn - can survive until mid-December without the payment. The likely dates for the referendum are thought to be 5 or 12 December.
The IMF board had yet to endorse the payout of the sixth tranche, but it is now thought that meetings of both the 17-strong eurogroup of finance ministers and the broader EU group including non-eurozone ministers could formally decide to withhold payment early next week in Brussels.
However, there remains doubt whether the referendum will ever be held, given the fragile hold on power that Papandreou has before Friday's confidence vote on his government. There is also confusion about what exactly the Greek public will be asked. Some suggest the vote will only be on the bailout package, while others claim it will be on membership of the EU.
Stockmarkets have regained some composure after Tuesday's sell-off, but EU officials are angry that Papandreou's action has guaranteed weeks, if not months, of political uncertainty and market volatility. France's prime minister, Francois Fillon, told his parliament: "Europe cannot be kept waiting for weeks for the outcome of the referendum. The Greeks must say quickly and without ambiguity whether they choose to keep their place in the eurozone or not".
Greece has been given an ultimatum that it will get no more money from the European Union and International Monetary Fund until its people have voted to accept the austerity measures demanded by the bailout package.
The latest tranche of bailout aid, worth EUR8bn (PS7bn) and agreed just two weeks ago, is seen as vital for ensuring that Greek public sector workers can continue to be paid. But it will now be delayed until after the country decides in a referendum whether it accepts the new rescue package or even wants to stay in the euro.
The threat to send Greece closer to bankruptcy emerged on the margins of the G20 summit in Cannes - due to start on Thursday - and follows a blunt warning from Jean-Claude Juncker, chairman of the eurogroup, that the sixth tranche of the original EUR110bn bailout was now in jeopardy.
Speaking after the bombshell decision of Greek prime minister, George Papandreou, to hold a referendum, Juncker, Luxembourg's veteran prime minister, asked: "Can we under these conditions pay out the sixth tranche, the EUR8bn, that we decided upon two weeks ago when we don't know whether the Greeks still agree with what was agreed?"
The EUR8bn was due to be paid in mid-November but German officials are suggesting that Greece - which has EUR360bn debts and GDP of just EUR220bn - can survive until mid-December without the payment. The likely dates for the referendum are thought to be 5 or 12 December.
The IMF board had yet to endorse the payout of the sixth tranche, but it is now thought that meetings of both the 17-strong eurogroup of finance ministers and the broader EU group including non-eurozone ministers could formally decide to withhold payment early next week in Brussels.
However, there remains doubt whether the referendum will ever be held, given the fragile hold on power that Papandreou has before Friday's confidence vote on his government. There is also confusion about what exactly the Greek public will be asked. Some suggest the vote will only be on the bailout package, while others claim it will be on membership of the EU.
Stockmarkets have regained some composure after Tuesday's sell-off, but EU officials are angry that Papandreou's action has guaranteed weeks, if not months, of political uncertainty and market volatility. France's prime minister, Francois Fillon, told his parliament: "Europe cannot be kept waiting for weeks for the outcome of the referendum. The Greeks must say quickly and without ambiguity whether they choose to keep their place in the eurozone or not".
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.