Greece’s crucial 130 billion euro (US$173 billion) bailout appeared to be in limbo yesterday, after coalition party leaders failed to accept the entire batch of new harsh austerity measures demanded by creditors.
After marathon meetings with party leaders and international debt inspectors that ended at about 5am, Greek Minister of Finance Evangelos Venizelos headed to Brussels to meet top EU officials, hoping to rescue the agreement and stave off bankruptcy.
The Athens talks stalled after leaders of the three parties backing Greece’s coalition government approved sweeping new austerity measures but balked at demands to make 300 million euros in pension cuts and another 325 million euros in savings.
The sums are relatively small compared with the bailout package, but if Athens does not make up for it, it faces a potentially devastating default next month.
Venizelos issued a dramatic plea to the coalition leaders to swiftly resolve their differences, warning that Greece’s “survival over the coming years” depends on the bailout and a related debt-relief agreement with private creditors.
“It will determine whether the country remains in the eurozone or whether its place in Europe will be endangered,” Venizelos said.
Markets nevertheless seemed hopeful that a deal will eventually be reached, with analysts suggesting the political leaders wanted to show their resistance to the foreign demands ahead of general elections later this year.
Greece’s main stock exchange was up 1.3 percent, while the STOXX 50 index of leading European shares was up 0.1 percent and the euro rose 0.4 percent against the US dollar.
Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the lack of a full agreement during Wednesday’s talks highlights the “certain amount of political theater involved here.”
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
A clandestine US Navy special missions unit colloquially known as SEAL Team 6 has been training for missions to assist Taiwan’s defense against an attack by China, the Financial Times said in a report yesterday. The navy commando team famous for killing Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan, has been conducting training to take part in a Taiwan conflict at its Dam Neck headquarters in Virginia Beach for more than one year, it said, citing sources familiar with the matter. “The secret training underlines the increased US focus on deterring China from attacking Taiwan, while stepping up preparations for such an event,”
RSS