Reading the newspapers last Monday, I was reminded that negotiations with Brussels are always an occasion for second-rate theatre. Ultimatums are usually issued by EU negotiators facing UK governments that talk enthusiastically of red lines and sovereignty. But now, if the Telegraph is to be believed, it is Boris Johnson who has given the EU […]
Greece
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Yanis Varoufakis: “Syriza Was a Bigger Blow to the Left Than Thatcher” – JACOBIN
Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis told Jacobin why he’s publishing his secret recordings of the critical Eurogroup meetings of 2015 — and why the Left around Europe is struggling to overcome Syriza’s disastrous legacy. Yanis Varoufakis during his speech in Hellenic Parliament. Dimitrios Karvountzis / Pacific Press / LightRocket via Getty INTERVIEW BY George […]
ΜέΡΑ25: 7+1 Μέτρα Στήριξης 3,6 δις του ΕΣΥ, της εργασίας, των μικρομεσαίων, των ευάλωτων και των υποδομών
Κάθε επιδημία, βιολογική ή οικονομική, απαιτεί άμεση δράση πριν εξαπλωθεί. Την ώρα που κυβέρνηση και Eurogroup ωλιγορούν, το ΜέΡΑ25 κατέθεσε (10-3-2020) συγκεκριμένη, κοστολογημένη πρόταση άμεσης εφαρμοσιμότητας για την αντιμετώπιση της Νέας Ύφεσης που ερχόταν έτσι κι αλλιώς αλλά η οποία, λόγω κορωνοϊού θα έρθει γρηγορότερα και θα είναι βαθύτερη: 510 εκ για το Εθνικό Σύστημα […]
Oligarchy & Xenophobia: The only beneficiaries of Greece’s economic ‘recovery’ – The Guardian
Spring is already in the air across Greece. Even in the bleakest of times, nature’s renaissance renders hope irrepressible. But this one is proving a cruel spring for a people caught up in a decade-old crisis yielding one ritual humiliation after another. Costas runs a small bookshop in my central Athens neighbourhood. Although jovial by […]
DiEM25: Resisting the militarisation of the Greek-Turkish border under a Paneuropean cloud of xenophobic hysteria
DiEM25 condemns the militarisation of the Greek-Turkish border, the European Union’s violation of every principle of Humanism, the instrumentalisation of refugees both by the Turkish regime and Brussels, the abandonment of Greek islanders to their own devices – the list goes on and on. DiEM25 calls for an immediate opening of all borders. The Greek-Turkish […]
Euroleaks: Why release? And why now?
During 2015’s first half, as Greece’s finance minister, I participated in thirteen crucial Eurogroup meetings – before the SYRIZA government (disrespecting the referendum result of 5th July) capitulated. The result of that capitulation was my immediate resignation and a permanent austerity program (until… 2060). From the beginning, the first Eurogroup, it was clear that the […]
How Syriza’s capitulations allowed the Greek right to escape the dustbin of history – The New Statesman
The left-wing party’s embrace of austerity created the conditions for a parasitic and cruel oligarchy to return The Greek right is back: greedier, uglier and more focused than ever. The incoming New Democracy government is determined to reclaim full control of the state on behalf of the most parasitic segment of Greece’s oligarchy and, of course, of […]
MeRA25: Greek progressives’ chance to take the fight against austerity back into Parliament – JACOBIN
Amid the bad results for the Left in the European elections, the Greek outcome was particularly poignant. In the last such contest in 2014, Syriza rode the revolt against austerity to become the largest single party, in its final step toward national office. Five years later, in last month’s election, it finished ten points behind the […]
A Greek Canary in a Global Goldmine – Project Syndicate op-ed 17 May 2019
ATHENS – The eurozone country that has become synonymous with insolvency is today proving to be a treasure-trove for some. Traders who bought Greek assets a few years ago have good reason to celebrate, having banked returns that no other market could have provided. But, as is often the case, an opportunity that seems too […]
EU Court defends the ECB’s right to cover up its illegal closure of Greece’s banks
The European Union Court today delivered its verdict: European citizens cannot be allowed to find out whether the ECB acted legally in closing down Greece’s banks in June 2015. Why? In the wording of the three judges, because such disclosure would affect the ECB’s “space to think in 2015 and also after 2015”. If this sounds […]
Mrs Merkel’s Athens visit, her fall from grace and Greece’s demand for war reparations – on BBC Radio 4
Over the past two days, Mrs Merkel was in Athens on a victory lap to celebrate her successful subjugation of the Syriza government and the subsequent extension of the Greeks’ debt bondage. Nevertheless, even this subservient Greek government managed to upset her victory lap by mentioning the… war and the reparations the Greeks will continue to demand for the […]
Behind the closed doors of negotiations with the EU? – The Guardian podcast, November 2018
As the Brexit negotiations near crunch point, Theresa May is still battling to keep her party on side as she edges closer to a deal with Brussels. But is it possible to take on the EU in negotiations and win? One man who staked his political career on trying just that was the former Greek finance minister Yanis […]