Draft Greek Bailout Agreement: Welcome IMF

From Reuters, the full Eurozone agreement on Greece.

"We reaffirm that all euro area members must conduct sound
national policies in line with the agreed rules and should be
aware of their shared responsibilities for the economic and
financial stability in the area.

We fully support the efforts of the Greek government and
welcome the additional measures announced on 3 March which are
sufficient to safeguard the 2010 budgetary targets. We recognise
that the Greek authorities have taken ambitious and decisive
action which should allow Greece to regain the full confidence
of the markets.

The consolidation measures taken by Greece are an important
contribution to enhancing fiscal sustainability and market
confidence. The Greek government has not requested any financial
support. Consequently, today no decision has been taken to
activate the below mentioned mechanism.

In this context, euro area member states reaffirm their
willingness to take determined and coordinated action, if
needed, to safeguard financial stability in the euro area as a
whole, as decided on the 11th of February.

As part of a package involving substantial International
Monetary Fund financing and a majority of European financing,
euro area member states are ready to contribute to coordinated
bilateral loans.

This mechanism, complementing International Monetary Fund
financing, has to be considered ultima ratio, meaning in
particular that market financing is insufficient. Any
disbursement on the bilateral loans would be decided by the euro
area member states by unanimity subject to strong conditionality
and based on an assessment by the European Commission and the
European Central Bank. We expect euro member states to
participate on the basis of their respective ECB capital key.

The objective of this mechanism will not be to provide
financing at average euro area interest rates, but to set
incentives to return to market financing as soon as possible by
risk adequate pricing. Interest rates will be non-concessional,
i.e. not contain any subsidy element. Decisions under this
mechanism will be taken in full consistency with the treaty
framework and national laws.

We reaffirm our commitment to implement policies aimed at
restoring strong, sustainable and stable growth in order to
foster job creation and social cohesion.

Furthermore, we commit to promote a strong coordination of
economic policies in Europe. We consider that the European
Council should become the economic government of the European
Union and we propose to increase its role in economic
surveillance and the definition of the European Union growth
strategy.

The current situation demonstrates the need to strengthen
and complement the existing framework to ensure fiscal
sustainability in the euro zone and enhance its capacity to act
in times of crises.

For the future, surveillance of economic and budgetary risks
and the instruments for their prevention, including the
excessive deficit procedure, must be strengthened. Moreover, we
need a robust framework for crisis resolution respecting the
principle of member states' own budgetary responsibility.

We ask the president of the European Council to establish a
task force with representatives of member states, the Commission
and the ECB, to present, before the end of this year, the
measures needed to reach this aim, exploring all options to
reinforce the legal framework."

Comments

[Hansel]

Most important part of the drivel,

"... no decision has been taken..."

[knukles]

"Taken"

The etymology is terribly instructive.  (Dr. Freud, please pick up any telephone.)

Decisions are arrived at, made, implemented, sorted out, debated, assigned, considered, rationalized, accomplished, achieved, assembled, built, carved, caused, composed, compelled, completed, composed, constructed, created, established, fabricated (Ohhh, I like that one!) forced, forged, framed, generated, invented (There we go again!) molded, perfected, produced and shapen.

Decisions are not taken.

Shits are taken. 

Money is taken, stolen, grabbed, grasped, absconded with, appropriated, confiscated, ensnared, usurped, apprehended or captured.  

It just doesn't get any better than this; a front row seat to the theater of mass destruction, the destruction of modern civilisation, my fellow Space Monkeys. 

[bingaling]

This just keeps getting funnier. Yeah, we are all behind Greece and this statement should make you want to buy their bonds .What has changed ,with the exception of the IMF now is with this group of do nothings?

[Traianus Augustus]

The biggest tell if Bennie is tapped is if Greece goes down in flames.  All eyes on IMF & Bennie boy.

[Traianus Augustus]

Treasury markets having a tough time at the auction desk.  Is it real this time or just another setup for the bears...

[George the baby...]

Just another swing perhaps.  Hard to tell, but it's coming.

[fUny1]

Stocks are up because the FED has printed a couple of Trillion dollars and funneled the money through their Primary Dealers( aka Goldman, JPM, etc) to Ponzi up the market like never before in History.

At the current rate of ascent of the last 40 days alone, the S&P index will go up to around 4000 within the next year.

But the US debt markets are starting to show strain with whatever is left other than the FED balking at buying long term dated treasuries for the worthless interest rate lows which means the FED is getting ready to pull the rug big time on the stock market hype in order to support the value of the dollar and the need to turn over 2.5 Trillion in debt that is maturing this year alone.

You want the Headlines before they happen? You’d have to dig deep but it’s embedded within:

http://funy1.blogspot.com/

http://funy1.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-long-before-fed-after-hours-ponzi.html

http://funy1.blogspot.com/2010/02/bank-lending-continues-to-plummet-1.html

http://funy1.blogspot.com/2010/02/will-imf-bail-out-greece-and-pay-for-it.html

Otherwise, it’s old
North
East
West
South

[Highrev]

It's obviously hard to say, but my impression is that fiscal responsibility underlies whatever "decision" that is eventually taken, be it loans at market rates or expulsion from the monetary union, or anything in between.

Europe's wealthy aren't stupid.

Edit: And I'm sure they don't mind giving the impression that they're fumbling a bit either - a lower Euro is something the European economy more than welcomes.

[carbonmutant]

 This is really a test of how much austerity and layoffs the Greek unions will put up with.

California is watching closely...

[Buck Johnson]

"No decision has been taken", is the most important part of that whole agreement.  They are saying two things in this "agreement" which is funny because they reference European members but at the same time make anything that may happen conditional or "lets wait and see".  They don't even name any countries by name.  The first thing they are saying in this agreement is that they won't do it and are putting the onus on Greece to come out and ask/demand for help.  They want Greece to officially come to them for help and not just make a demand for help without strings essentially.  Two, if done that agreement is a country killer.  It literally puts the EU and countries who have put more money into the loans than others in receivership of the finances of Greece.

Any decision has to be looked at before it is done concerning finances and where it goes and to whom in regard to Greece.  I think they did this in order to make Greece say "screw it where out of the EU" and they not the rest of the EU are the ones that wanted to leave.  These countries don't want to give Greece any money because they know that they will be lucky to get it back.  If you read in the agreement about the interest rates that should be enough to scare Greece away from the deal.  They won't have the interest rates set at the usual rates for EU, "but to set incentives to return to market financing as soon as possible by risk adequate pricing".  In other words we got you over a barrel and we are going to get our money and then some out of you.

Does anyone know that if any discussion was had about Greece maybe agreeing to sell some of their islands in order to get money?  If so I think they would have gave them the money, but Greece may have balked at the idea.

[cougar_w]

Wait. Last week the IMF sent a guy over there to lend "technical assistance" and this week we write the Greeks a check for a ba-zillion dollehs?

So what happens when they send a guy over to "have a little look"? Or how about maybe "bust a move"?

Bailout-talk; it's like a whole nuther language, where the meaningful nouns are all synonyms for money.

[sangell]

Doesn't seem like much of 'mechanism' if the decision to use it must be unanimous. And from the Greek point of view there is 'strong conditionality' and no 'subsidy' interest rates. IMF would probably give better rates and be less humiliating than groveling before Berlin.

[37FullHedge]

The bottom line is Greece is being bailed out by other EU states, This is against EU law as I understand, well rules are made to be broken, This reminds me of the banks bail out damaging states, now this move is the second stage, Weak states being bailed out, time will pass but this type of thing may finish the western world ponzi financial games when the strong states need bailing out.

[virgilcaine]

Greece will be the gift that keeps giving ..like an std.

[Mr Lennon Hendrix]

The IMF wants your soul......

[theprofromdover]

A bailout which only exists as long as it is not used?

Only a politician could look himself in the mirror on that one and say,

mmmmmmmm nice tweeds.

I hope the market chews them all up and spits them out in leeetle peeeces.

The Euro just died -but like Tito and Kim Il Song- will be embalmed and fitted with an electric waving hand, to reassure the peeples.

[mark456]

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