European Politics

The business lobby hates it, of course. They want to self-regulate wages, and many point out that a sudden rise in average wages was what brought down the economy of post-Communist East Germany.
 
“The president ordered the cabinet of ministers to establish the order of application of provisions of several legislative acts related to mobilization. The government has been ordered to regulate the rules of foreign travel for Ukrainian nationals subject to conscription for the time of mobilization, for a special period,” the press service said, TASS reports. On January 20, Ukraine began a fourth wave of mobilization since the beginning of the operation in Donbas. This time, about 104,000 men aged 20 to 60 are to be mobilized. Ukrainian General Staff spokesman Oleg Boiko acknowledged great problems with mobilization saying conscripts ignore draft cards, and raft-age men are leaving for Russia and other countries neighbouring Ukraine. On Thursday, chief of the Ukrainian armed forces General Staff Viktor Muzhenko declared that servicemen will be getting 1,000 hryvnias (about $63) for one day in action in the zone of military operations in the south-east. Bonuses have been promised for the destruction of Donetsk and Luhansk militias’ hardware. For one destroyed motor vehicle Ukrainian troops are promised 10 minimum wages (an equivalent of $756); for one tank, $3,000; for one GRAD multiple rocket launcher, $3,780; and for one combat plane, $7,623.

Read More at inserbia.info/today/2015/01/mobilization-in-ukraine-poroshenko-orders-regulation-of-foreign-travel/ © InSerbia News
 
Erdoğan and AKP have been pushing for a presidential government lately. Turkey is heading towards complete dictatorship with each day. That's not to say it's not a dictatorship to a certain degree right now, because it is.
 
No talk about Tsipras? Recent negotiations? Nothing? Not even TTIP?
 
Shoe 1 dropping.


LONDON (MarketWatch) — Bank stocks and government bonds tanked in Greece on Thursday, as investors fled the country’s assets after the European Central Bank restricted liquidity to Greek banks.

In a move seen as cranking up pressure on the new anti-austerity government to reach a debt deal with creditors, the ECB late Wednesday told Athens that Greek financial institutions can no longer use the country’s sovereign debt as collateral for ECB-provided liquidity.

That move has not been taken well by investors in bank stocks on Thursday morning: Piraeus Bank TPEIR, -14.97% slid 16%, Attica Bank TATT, -12.99% dropped 14%, National Bank of Greece ETE, -12.31% slumped 15%, Eurobank Ergasias EUROB, -9.70% lost 14%, and Alpha Bank ALPHA, -2.09% gave up 10%. The banks weighed on the Athex Composite index GD, -3.37% which sank 5.9% to 797.90.

In the bond markets, the yield on 10-year Greek government paper rose by 86 basis points to 10.542%, according to electronic trading platform Tradeweb. The yield on 5-year bonds jumped 142 basis points, or more than a percentage point, to 14.137%.

“Any hopes of the new Greek government that the ECB might unilaterally buy it more time were dashed by the ECB yesterday, removing the rating waiver for Greek collateral,” said Christian Schulz, senior economist at Berenberg, in a note.

“Greece’s financial system and economy could collapse within weeks, if Greece turns down the lifeline thrown to it by Europe because the double-populist coalition in Athens rejects the strings attached,” he added.

The Alexis Tsipras-led Greek governing coalition is seeking to renegotiate strict bailout terms agreed with international lenders before the current program expires by the end of February. If no agreement is reached, Greece risks running out of money and defaulting on its loans. European parliament President Martin Schulz warned in an interview with Germany daily Handelsblatt that Greece risks bankruptcy if it doesn’t stick to the commitments of the bailout.

“If Greece unilaterally changes the agreements, the other side is no longer obliged to stick to them,” Schulz said in the interview.

However, Greece has stuck to its stance on easing austerity measures. In an overnight statement issued by the Finance Ministry, the government said it remains “unwavering in the goals of its social salvation program, approved by the vote of the Greek people” with an aim of “coming up with a European policy that will definitively put an end to the now self-perpetuating crisis of the Greek social economy,” according to media reports.

Greece’s finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, was meeting with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in Berlin on Thursday in an attempt to win backing for a new debt plan.
 
Austerity measures don't work like people think they work, but Greece also has a gun to their head.
 
LooseCannon said:
I would say the ECB put the gun to their head and the Greek people loaded the bullets.
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The fault of this lies with Greece and the Greeks. They had years of "give me a bunch of crap now, screw our kids and grandkids" and the bill came due. They vastly outspent what their economy could hope to produce (even in boom times), now they are complaining that the only people that would lend them a dime put terms on the loans.

No one in their right minds would invest in Greece, as evidenced by 14% on a 5-year bond. Which is insane, most countries are around 1%

It is their fault and they just elected a government based on "it is not our fault" and we will try to spend our way out of debt and alienate the few institutions willing to lend them anything.
 
I largely agree with you, bearfan, but when you speak of they in relation to "the fault", which Greek people do you mean? All of them?

One can wonder how Greece has taken measures in the last years. How did the cuts take place? Did the rich (relatively) pay as much for the crisis and budget cuts as the poor?

This recent election is a form of protest, an outburst of desperation as well I guess. And the recent reaction by the European Central Bank stinks a bit. It was done very quickly and feels as if it was a political move.

At the same time, Greece (or the previous government) has made appointments with the EU. Greece is part of that EU, and all this shouldn't be trhown in the dustbin. This is a common responsibility, but where are the limits?

I hope there's still more room (and time!) for negotiations and mutual understanding.
 
Forostar said:
I largely agree with you, bearfan, but when you speak of they in relation to "the fault", which Greek people do you mean? All of them?
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Collectively I think they are. That goes in part with being a democracy, if the government hoses something up and the same/similar policies keep getting voted in time and time again, those doing the voting deserve some blame as well. For years they voted for the present with no eye on the future or the reality of the Greek economy.

Forostar said:
One can wonder how Greece has taken measures in the last years. How did the cuts take place? Did the rich (relatively) pay as much for the crisis and budget cuts as the poor?

This recent election is a form of protest, an outburst of desperation as well I guess. And the recent reaction by the European Central Bank stinks a bit. It was done very quickly and feels as if it was a political move.

At the same time, Greece (or the previous government) has made appointments with the EU. Greece is part of that EU, and all this shouldn't be trhown in the dustbin. This is a common responsibility, but where are the limits?

I hope there's still more room (and time!) for negotiations and mutual understanding.
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Part of the problem is this was already negotiated. Electing a new government does not free the country of what are essentially treaties. I am sure there is a lot of posturing going on now, but the posturing by the new government has further hurt Greece's credit (who would have thought that would be possible) as they were downgraded again just yesterday. If they were asking for delayed payments, reduction of interest, and small things like that ... I am sure the ECB/EU would go along with it. But they are asking for a lot more. You have two extremist parties (one on the right, one on the left) in this coalition and they are both delusional and they and the Greek people have bought into the "it is not their fault, it is they fault of Germany, the banks, the ECB, the EU, foreign companies, and on and on an on. Sorry Greeks, it is your fault and acting upset because while drowning the person who threw you a life raft and saved your lives ... but you stubbed a toe getting into the life raft is pretty pathetic.
 
When I was in Greece this summer, a few locals told us about how bad it was prior to the austerity programs with corrupt workforces milking the system. Anecdotal of course.
 
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