Another day came and went with no breakthrough in negotiations between Athens and Brussels as new Greek FinMin Euclid Tsakalotos reportedly showed up to Tuesday's Eurogroup with nothing to discuss.
With the ECB tightening the screws on Greek banks and the German finance ministry as well as German lawmakers tightening the screws on Angela Merkel, the Chancellor is drawing a hard line toward the Greeks in the face of calls for debt writedowns from the IMF, Greek PM Alexis Tsipras and the Greek people.
- MERKEL SAYS IF GREEK REFORM PROPOSALS ARE SATISFACTORY AND PRIOR ACTIONS TAKEN, SHORT-TERM FINANCE CAN BE PROVIDED: RTRS
- MERKEL SAYS SHORT-TERM GREEK FIX HINGES ON LONG-TERM PROPOSALS
- MERKEL SAYS GREECE NEEDS MULTI-YEAR PROGRAM
- MERKEL: GREEK PROPOSALS HAVE TO GO BEYOND WHAT BAILOUT INSTITUTIONS DEMANDED BEFORE REFERENDUM
- MERKEL SAYS GREECE WILL NEED STRONGER MEASURES TO PLUG FINANCING GAP BECAUSE OF ECONOMIC DETERIORATION
- MERKEL: EU TO DEAL WITH GREEK DEBT BURDEN AT END OF PROCESS
- MERKEL SAYS EURO LEADERS DIDN'T DISCUSS AID PACKAGE SIZE
- MERKEL SAYS SHE ISN'T 'ESPECIALLY OPTIMISTIC' ABOUT GREECE
- MERKEL RULES OUT DEBT 'HAIRCUT'
- MERKEL SAYS ECB BRIEFING SIGNALED GREECE NEEDS SUNDAY DECISION
More from Reuters:
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday she hoped to have sufficient reform proposals from Greece this week to be able to ask the German parliament to approve negotiations on a new long-term aid programme for Athens.
She said all 28 European Union leaders would meet next Sunday to discuss support for Greece provided Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras put forward detailed reform proposals along with a loan request by Thursday that were considered satisfactory.
If the reform list was adequate and Greece took some prior actions to enact first measures, Merkel said she was sure that short-term finance could be provided to help Athens over its immediate funding needs.
In other words, Merkel just told the Greeks yes, there is some money, but forget debt haircut, and the new deal is far harsher than what was on the table because the Greek economy is now imploding. Also, the deal will be 2-3 years at least to start, so even more austerity is on the table. So to all those who voted "Oxi", if you want your deposits unlocked well... tough.
The headlines keep coming hot and heavy, in which we find that Europe now thinks it is Greece's god:
- MALTA'S MUSCAT SAYS `SUNDAY IS JUDGMENT DAY'
As Bloomberg reports [6], "Sunday now looms as the climax of a five-year battle to contain Greece’s debts, potentially splintering a currency that was meant to be irreversible and throwing more than a half-century of economic and political integration into reverse. “We have a Grexit scenario prepared in detail,” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said, using the shorthand for expulsion from the now 19-nation currency area.
And just so it is clear who is calling the shots, here is Juncker explaining:
- JUNCKER: LAST MOMENT FOR GREEK GOVT WILL BE MONDAY MORNING
What happens then?
"Our inability to find agreement may lead to the bankruptcy of Greece and the insolvency of its banking system,” European Union President Donald Tusk said. “If someone has any illusions that it will not be so, they are naive."
And just in case Greece decides to disobey, Europe is ready to treat Greece as an African nation:
- JUNCKER: EU COMMISSION HAS HUMANITARIAN PLAN FOR GREECE IF NEED
The only good news for Greece, which was just clearly reduced to a vassal nation state of Europe, is that Merkel did not demand Tsipras' head on a silver platter. Then again, if he does indeed fold, it may be the Greek people themselves who ask for it instead...
