Protesters Take Over Finance Ministry In Athens

[Pole]

LINK

Protesters took over the Finance Ministry building in Athens Friday morning, hanging a giant banner from the roof calling for a general strike, just as Greece wraps up tough negotiations with international officials on new austerity measures.

About 200 protesters from the communist party-backed PAME union blockaded the entrance to the ministry from dawn, preventing employees from entering. They hung a banner over five stories of the front of the building and took down the European flag from the top of the ministry, replacing it with their own union flag.

They said they would continue the blockade for the entire day. Ministry staff were working from a separate building, an official said.

The protest came as experts from the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund were wrapping up a review of Greece’s implementation of economic reforms in return for €110 billion ($159.06 billion) in rescue loans from the EU and IMF.

The three bodies, known collectively as the troika, were to issue a statement on their review later Friday, officials said. The review is crucial towards determining whether Greece will receive a fifth tranche, worth €12 billion, of bailout loans agreed last year.

Greece has so far received €53 billion from its rescue deal since it first started tapping into the bailout package in May 2010.

Prime Minister George Papandreou was heading to Luxembourg later Friday for emergency talks with Jean-Claude Juncker, who is head of the group of 17 eurozone finance ministers as well as Luxembourg’s prime minister. Juncker recently criticized Greece for being slow in cutting debt and reforming the public sector.

Greek officials were also completing tough negotiations on the details of more austerity measures needed to ensure the country can avoid defaulting on its debts. The original bailout plan envisaged the country being able to tap bond investors next year, but with the interest rates on Greek bonds remaining exceptionally high, that appears increasingly unlikely.

Last month, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou announced remedial austerity measures worth about €6.4 billion for this year, in order to meet the target of reducing the deficit to 7.5 percent of gross domestic product, from 10.5 percent in 2010.

While €4.8 billion of that amount has already been announced, the government was expected to outline details of the remaining €1.6 billion in the coming days. It is also expected to give details of a 2012-15 midterm austerity program, with the details to be announced after a Cabinet meeting in the coming days, officials said.

The new cutbacks will also have to be ratified in parliament, where the governing Socialists have a six-seat majority. But several Socialist backbenchers have voiced strong criticism, and the government this week canceled two planned briefings of its deputies to avoid a showdown.

Sixteen Socialist lawmakers have signed a letter calling for an extensive debate on the proposed new cutbacks before their ratification, with one of the signatories threatening on Friday not to vote for the reforms.

“If the draft legislation is brought to Parliament without prior discussion, I will not vote for it,” Thomas Robopoulos told state NET television.

Greece’s woes have been compounded by repeated downgrades of its credit ratings — Moody’s warned Wednesday that the country had a 50-50 chance of defaulting on its debts.

On Friday, Moody’s also cut the ratings of eight Greek banks — National Bank of Greece, Eurobank, Alpha, Piraeus, Agricultural Bank of Greece, Attica, Emporiki and General Bank of Greece.

The agency said “the rising likelihood of a sovereign debt restructuring” could directly affect Greek banks by reducing the value of the government bonds they hold as well as eroding their funding sources.

[Errol]

Yay! More loans! Clearly more debt, on top of all the debts they have already, was the solution all along! YAY!

And when they get further into debt in 5yrs time we can just lend them some more. Debt never fails.

BRING ON THE REVOLUTION!!

Edited June 3, 2011 by Errol

[dances with sheeple]

Eventually Greece has to go pop? German taxpayer can`t be happy at all this nonsense?

[scepticus]

Eventually Greece has to go pop? German taxpayer can`t be happy at all this nonsense?

The german taxpayer is the single most exposed entity to bad greek debt.

They need to tread carefully.

[bendy]

it's the asset sale prosperity scheme WAHEY!

[R K]

Who do they think they are?!

Germany?

[Bloo Loo]

The german taxpayer is the single most exposed entity to bad greek debt.

They need to tread carefully.

not if the taxpayer had any say they wouldnt.

[leicestersq]

The german taxpayer is the single most exposed entity to bad greek debt.

They need to tread carefully.

Is lending even more money to a hopelessly bankrupt nation that cant raise taxes properly and gives every impression that it is borrowing with no intention of repaying, treading carefully?

[R K]

Is lending even more money to a hopelessly bankrupt nation that cant raise taxes properly and gives every impression that it is borrowing with no intention of repaying, treading carefully?

That's precisely what the Germans have been doing with their savings via their banks.

Nobody forced them. The solution is for their savings to disappear and the lesson to be learned. Sadly they'd rather not face up to the fact they've been stupid and want their money back.

They're delusional.

[copydude]

Is lending even more money to a hopelessly bankrupt nation that cant raise taxes properly and gives every impression that it is borrowing with no intention of repaying, treading carefully?

Not all nations are being quite so dense.

Only days ago, (May 20), Norway and Iceland suspended a 42m EEA development payment to Greece. (This has nothing to do with the bailout.)

Bloomberg: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein froze payment of 235 million kroner ($42 million) in European Economic Area grants to Greece because the government didn’t meet the obligations linked to the funds.

“Greece had committed to paying 50 percent of each project. This was not followed up,” Norwegian Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its website yesterday. “It’s also unclear whether the money already transferred to the Greek authorities was forwarded to the appropriate recipients.”

This is rather reminiscent of the IMF loans to Russia during the Yeltsin years. Some of them only made it as far as Switzerland.

[WageslaveX14]

Not all nations are being quite so dense.

Only days ago, (May 20), Norway and Iceland suspended a 42m EEA development payment to Greece. (This has nothing to do with the bailout.)

This is rather reminiscent of the IMF loans to Russia during the Yeltsin years. Some of them only made it as far as Switzerland.

Why were Iceland due to be making 'development' payments in the first place? How can/why would an officially bust country still be making loans in the first place?

Edited June 3, 2011 by WageslaveX14

[Injin]

They seem to have had some say in the nuclear debate.

Yep, "seem."

Next up in Greece - 3 am wake up calls for banksters and sundry random rich people by men with bits of 4x2.

100% guaranteed.

[John The Pessimist]

Why were Iceland due to be making 'development' payments in the first place? How can/why would an officially bust country still making loans in the first place?

Ireland is borrowing money at a higher rate than Greece, and lending it at a lower rate as part of the original Greek bailout. Despite being bailed out, they must still "honour their obligations". Only the bankers win.

[mel in w9]

I have to admire the Greek people for not going along with these crazy deals their government is making with these loan sharks at the IMF and European bank.

[Deckard]

About 200 protesters from the communist party-backed PAME union blockaded the entrance to the ministry

Not quite a full blown revolution yet, by the sound of it.

I guess it's too hot down there for the masses to get involved this time of the year

[Fishman]

Yay! More loans! Clearly more debt, on top of all the debts they have already, was the solution all along! YAY!

And when they get further into debt in 5yrs time we can just lend them some more. Debt never fails.

BRING ON THE REVOLUTION!!

It doesn't matter so long as this current crop of EU leaders/politicians can keep it going long enough for them to retire in prosperity.

Let the next one/two/three generations pay for it - that's the mentality and it highlights the immoral greed of man.

We need a revolution alright, but not a poltical one - a moral one.

Don't laugh.

[wonderpup]

The funny part is that it should be the germans on the streets- it's their money in the end that's being given away here to the bankers- no way will the greeks pay it back.

[THE BALD MAN]

I have to admire the Greek people for not going along with these crazy deals their government is making with these loan sharks at the IMF and European bank.

These are the same Greeks who pay no taxes, are paid by the state for doing nothing and expect the rest of Europe to bail them out. I really admire them for their cheek!

[oracle]

The german taxpayer is the single most exposed entity to bad greek debt.

They need to tread carefully.

why do you think they suggested selling some of the greek islands into an EU trust fund?(ie centralised debt-for-land-swap)...aka land grab.

oh dear,the wheels are going to come off...not much longer they can hold this facade of benevolence up.

...and it looks like it's going to come as a result of being a little too cocksure of themselves in the political and financial machinations of EU.

...like the bits where german companies dish the dirt on improper practice(which was actually orchestrated by their proxies(via vatican mr ratzinger and cohorts))...in return for immunity from prosecution.......or should that be gaining competitive edge.

....so grmany look like they are now going to have to play hardball with russia!

..ie germany slaps an embargo on spanish veggies.....

...russia says....no,pick on someone your own size!..slaps a ban on the whole EU,and therefore hitting the potential gainers in the pocket.

interesting times.

[Errol]

Ah, here we are. What the EU/ECB demanded (and apparently got) is for the government to sell public assets (the things that all Greeks own collectively) and use that money to pay the banksters.

This is a direct financial rape of the Greek people and should be met with immediate refusal - not acceptance - by the Greek population.

http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=187425

[tahoma]

It's going to be interesting to see what happens in Greece, a petri dish of what happens when an economy based on copious amounts of public spending of borrowed money finally gets a message up on the screen saying: Account overdrawn.

They say there is ingrained tax evasion, which would make you think there was a whole lot of savings slushing around under the surface, but I'm not sure. People avoided tax, and spent the money themselves instead.

Just what national assets could be sold? What are they going to do, sell and move the Parthenon brick by brick?

[mfp123]

greece dont have to take these loans if they dont want them - they can just borrow money on the open market if they want....currently at 23%.

[Injin]

greece dont have to take these loans if they dont want them - they can just borrow money on the open market if they want....currently at 23%.

Or just make their own.

it's not like it's hard.