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polly7

(20,582 posts)
Sun Apr 24, 2016, 01:29 PM Apr 2016

The IMF and Troika Have Greece in Their Crosshairs — Again!

By Jack Rasmus
Source: teleSUR English
April 22, 2016

In August 2015, after eight months of intense negotiations with Europe’s Troika financial institutions — the IMF, European Central Bank, and European Commission — the Greek Government capitulated to the Troika’s demands imposing more austerity on its people in exchange for another $98 billion in additional loans.

The $98 billion did not represent economic assistance to Greece, to stimulate its economy, but was earmarked almost exclusively to pay back interest to the Troika, Europe banks, and Europe investors for prior loans made to Greece in 2012, 2010, and before. But while the Greek people would see little real benefit, they would have to pay the price. In exchange for the $98 billion in new credit, the August 2015 debt restructuring deal required Greece to even further cut pensions, axe more government jobs and cut wages, raise taxes, accelerate the sales of public works (ports, airports, utilities, etc.) to private investors, and to in effect turn over Greek banks to the Troika and its northern Europe banker and investor friends.

To ensure Greece would not renege on the August 2015 deal, it would now also have to submit to vetoes by Troika representatives sent to Greece to oversee virtually all policy decisions made by Greece’s democratically elected Parliament or local governments. The Troika last year thus tightened its grip on Greece both politically and economically to ensure it would receive debt payments from Greece no matter how harsh the austerity terms.

The Greek government may have thought it had a debt deal, albeit a dirty one, last August 2015; but recent developments are now beginning to reveal it was only temporary.

Worse is yet to come.

The Troika grip on Greece is about to tighten still further, as revelations in recent weeks show Troika plans to renege on last year’s terms and demand even more draconian austerity measures. Leading the Troika attack on Greece once again is the the IMF, one of the Troika’s three institutional partners.

IMF Secret Plans to Impose Further Austerity on Greece

On April 2, 2016, WikiLeaks released transcripts of a secret teleconference among IMF officials that occurred on March 19. In it, leading IMF directors expressed concern that discussions between Greece and the IMF’s Troika partner, the European Commission, on terms of implementing last August’s deal were going too slowly. The Eurozone and Greek economies have been deteriorating since last August. Still more austerity would thus be needed, according to the discussions among the IMF participants in the teleconference. And to get Greece to agree, perhaps a new ‘crisis event’ would have to be provoked..........


Full article: https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-imf-and-troika-have-greece-in-their-crosshairs-again/
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The IMF and Troika Have Greece in Their Crosshairs — Again! (Original Post) polly7 Apr 2016 OP
"to get Greece to agree, perhaps a new ‘crisis event’ would have to be provoked." snot Apr 2016 #1
Sound familiar. elleng Apr 2016 #2

snot

(10,481 posts)
1. "to get Greece to agree, perhaps a new ‘crisis event’ would have to be provoked."
Sun Apr 24, 2016, 01:44 PM
Apr 2016

what???

I'm not really surprised, of course; but I'd like to see the details of the transcripts on that point.

(Having trouble locating the actual transcript online; a link would be helpful.)

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