Tag: bailout

If Greece were to exit the eurozone, expansionary fiscal policies and successive competitive devaluations will not work, as they have not worked in the past. The root of the crisis is not austerity, but the fact that Greece essentially ceased its efforts to reform after the adoption of the euro, writes Nikos Chrysoloras.

'Radical' leftist Greek leader Alexis Tsipras is meeting the leaders of Greece's mainstream parties today to try to form a coalition government, an effort seen as doomed after he demanded they first agree to tear up the country's austerity programme underpinning the bailout deal with the EU and the IMF.

Spain's economy minister and European Union officials denied yesterday (10 April) that the country needed an international bailout, following Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Portugal is making progress with reforms aimed at bringing its finances back to health and should be able to return to markets in 2013 as planned, the European Commission said yesterday (3 April).

Greece claimed a major success for its bond swap offer to private creditors today (9 March) after it won heavy acceptance for a deal that averts the immediate risk of an uncontrolled default on its massive public debt.

Socialist members of the European Parliament have set up an "alternative Troika" to find solutions for Greece beyond austerity measures, with their group leader going as far as likening the current task force to "locusts". The socialists' concerns about Greece were largely echoed by other political group leaders in the Assembly, EurActiv France reports from Strasbourg.

Eurozone finance ministers have dropped plans for holding a face-to-face meeting today (15 February) on Greece's new international bailout, saying party leaders in Athens failed to provide the required commitment to reform. 

Greece's coalition parties must tell Brussels today (6 February) whether they accept the painful terms of a new bailout deal, as EU patience wears thin with political dithering in Athens over implementing reforms.

Pro- and anti-government protests took place in Budapest over the weekend, heating the atmosphere ahead of a Brussels visit of the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who is to discuss tomorrow (24 January) changes to recently adopted legislation as a prerequisite for obtaining a much-needed aid package.

Up to 26 EU countries will finalise a pact to enforce budget discipline more strictly in the eurozone by March, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said yesterday in Strasbourg, as the bloc tries to move quickly to rebuild confidence without Britain's backing.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán requested 'precautionary aid' from the EU and the International Monetary Fund yesterday (21 November), saying Hungary was seeking "a kind of insurance policy" against possible future financing difficulties.

With Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi set to resign and as coalition talks in Greece drag into a third day, the EU fears that a political vacuum in those two countries might make the eurozone sovereign debt crisis even worse.

Fighting for his political survival, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou abandoned tonight (3 November) his idea for a referendum on the hard-fought deal by eurozone leaders to save his country from bankruptcy. EurActiv Greece contributed to this article.

European leaders achieved a breakthrough early today (27 October) to write off half of Greece's debt and seek foreign capital to double the eurozone's bailout fund to around €1 trillion. But crucial details on the fund's size were left for finance ministers to decide end of November.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was defiant ahead of tomorrow's (26 October) crunch EU summit that is expected to put in place bold measures to protect the euro from highly indebted countries such as Italy.

A double-notch downgrade to Spain's credit ratings yesterday (18 October) has put more pressure on European leaders to make rapid progress on solving the region's debt crisis or face unbearable borrowing costs.

France and Belgium will "step in" if needed to save the Brussels-based Dexia bank, which called for an emergency meeting yesterday evening (3 October) amid concerns of the bank's exposure to Greek sovereign debt and its impact on Europe's ailing banking system.

Despite the Italian finance minister's reassurances that a crackdown on tax evasion will provide enough revenue to replace the levy on high earners dropped from Rome's austerity package, employers' group Confindustria has labelled the government's plan "weak and inadequate" and expressed concern about how Italy's economic problems are being handled.

The European Commission has decided to lower the proportion by which EU-sponsored projects require co-financing to help Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Romania, Latvia and Hungary, which have all benefited from different forms of bailouts in recent years.

Rating agency Moody's put Spain on review for a possible downgrade today (29 July), adding to concerns that a Greek rescue package has done little to halt the spread of Europe's debt crisis.

The euro zone attempted to draw a line under Greece’s mounting debt problems yesterday (21 July) as banks holding the country's government bonds agreed to contribute €37billion in a fresh rescue totalling €109 billion until 2014.

Ireland's debt has been downgraded to junk status by rating agency Moody's, which said the country was likely to need further rounds of financing before it could return to international capital markets. Meanwhile, Italy's borrowing costs soared to their highest level in more than a decade, sparking new doubts about the euro zone's ability to right itself.

The European Union warned Greek lawmakers yesterday (28 June) that their country faced immediate default unless they approve a hated austerity plan, as strikers began new mass protests against the EU/IMF-imposed measures.

Antonis Samaras, the leader of Greece's main opposition party, the centre-right 'New Democracy', said yesterday (23 June) that he remained opposed to backing the country's austerity plan, seen as crucial for bailing out Greece and saving the euro.