An Ultimatum for Greece - Europe Raises Threat Level against Athens

[FarCenter]

Despite official claims to the contrary, the governments of the euro zone are threatening to kick Greece out of the currency union. At a meeting of euro-zone finance ministers last Monday in Brussels, it was made clear to Greek Finance Minister Filippos Sachinidis just how serious the situation had become.

"If we now held a secret vote about Greece staying in the euro zone," Euro Group Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker warned his Greek colleague, "there would be an overwhelming majority against it." Other participants in the meeting also had harsh words for Sachinidis, with particularly strong criticism towards Athens coming from Portugal and Ireland, countries that have also accepted bailouts in the crisis.

The countries say it is unacceptable that they have made serious efforts to fulfil the European Union's guidelines for consolidating their budgets while Greece incessantly breaks its reform agreements. It was the Greeks, they noted, who poured oil on the flames and repeatedly caused the whole euro zone to catch fire with their repeated negligence, other ministers added.

Juncker, who is also Luxembourg's prime minister, added that new elections on June 17 would be Greece's last chance. If the country is unable to form a government that respects the conditions for previously agreed to financial aid to Greece set by the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, "then it is over."

http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/europe-raises-threat-level-against-athens-a-834188.html

[cthulu2016]

1. They are bluffing

Greece cannot afford to leave the euro, but the eurozone cannot really afford the fall-out either right now.

IMO.

[girl gone mad]

2. Greece can't afford to stay on the euro.

Germany is in no position to be making ultimatums. Now the Greeks hold all of the cards.

[Nye Bevan]

3. They need to get their Drachma printing press out of the museum and check that it still works (nt)

[dkf]

4. People with funds moved their Euros out.

Beats me who will want a drachma.

[Art_from_Ark]

6. Who will want drachmas?

The same type of people who want kwachas, lire, pesos, colones, dinars, quetzals, pisos, riyals, bolivares, rubles, rupiyah, dongs, levs, leks, drams, manats, takas, bolivianos, pulas, riels, kroons, birrs, laris, cedis, gourdes, lempiras, tengas, som, and so on and so forth.

[dkf]

7. Only if you have no choice...

[Art_from_Ark]

9. Which was essentially the gist of my post

If Greece returns to the drachma, I think it will essentially revert to the way things were before the euro, that is, a small currency that doesn't get much respect outside, or even inside, its own country, but which its residents must accept for daily living. That's basically the way it was with nearly all the Latin/Mediterranean countries of the Eurozone before 2002, and the expected stability and respect of the euro were incentives for them to join.

[fasttense]

10. Exactly Art

If you are a sovereign country and produce your own money, all you have to do is demand that taxes be paid in that money and everyone in your country will want that money.

[dkf]

5. I'm not sure I heard right that the ECB might have to recapitalize if Greece refuses to pay its debt

You hear anything like that?

[JCMach1]

8. Do what Ecuador did... default and then buy back old debt for pennies on the dollar...