Greece: debt, creditors, austerity measures, Syriza, Varoufakis, Troika

[spyraal]

Does anyone know what the status of investigation of the Greek Parliamentary Investigative Committee on the Greek debt is? I haven't run into any updated material on the topic.

To the best of my knowledge, after the announcement of the preliminary results in early July, the work of the Committee does continue (although they may take the usual break during the month of August). Still under the current defamation attempt against president of the parliament Zoe Konstantopoulou who actually runs the Committee, there quite a few people (even SYRIZA's own deputy Minister of Finance, Dimitris Mardas) who claim the work of the Committee "does not help the Greek negotiating position" as they think it's damning conclusions about public debt "do not allow them room for maneuvering"! He even said that the Committee costs too much to run and thus it is a burden to the Greek budget! This is sadly the true face of a part of SYRIZA... This guy Mardas actually used to be a member of the corrupt PASOK party that was in government for so many years (but now has shrunk to almost non-existance) , but Tsipras and SYRIZA recruited a lot of similar power-hungry rats that escaped their own sinking boats in search of more authority and more government positions... This also partly explains the recent disappointing behavior of SYRIZA: It has been infiltrated by a lot of these treacherous and ambitious career "politicians", and that has removed a lot of the radical edge one would expect from a true Leftist party.

Just in case you are not familiar with it, this is address (English version) of the Debt Truth Committee:
_http://www.greekdebttruthcommission.org/index.php

 

[Alana]

To me the worst thing that the Tsipras government did, was the agreement with Israel. I could understand why they accepted the latest "deal" (which is not yet done btw, lots can happen until it goes through), I may wishfully believe them that despite the deal they will do the best they can in all other areas of governance, but the military deal with Israel... that I can't stomach with anything.

I know that Greece has to deal with the threat from Turkey everyday (Turkey violates with army aircraft the airspace of Greece for years now just for bullying and provocation) but if we are going to stay in the EU (unwelcomed as this prospect is) that's the protection, right? To me, this is worst and it's beyond selling all assets of Greece to the vultures, it's like selling the soul of Greece to the devil for me.

Greece’s Syriza makes military deal with Israel that only US has made - See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2015/07/greeces-syriza-military#sthash.Q4GEndx5.dpuf

 

[spyraal]

To me the worst thing that the Tsipras government did, was the agreement with Israel. I could understand why they accepted the latest "deal" (which is not yet done btw, lots can happen until it goes through), I may wishfully believe them that despite the deal they will do the best they can in all other areas of governance, but the military deal with Israel... that I can't stomach with anything.

I know that Greece has to deal with the threat from Turkey everyday (Turkey violates with army aircraft the airspace of Greece for years now just for bullying and provocation) but if we are going to stay in the EU (unwelcomed as this prospect is) that's the protection, right? To me, this is worst and it's beyond selling all assets of Greece to the vultures, it's like selling the soul of Greece to the devil for me.

Greece’s Syriza makes military deal with Israel that only US has made - See more at: http://mondoweiss.net/2015/07/greeces-syriza-military#sthash.Q4GEndx5.dpuf

This military deal with Israel is indeed pure shame and horror for Greece and SYRIZA. This move is sheer disappointment in so many ways, a black page of history. But it is also true that the EU cannot and would not ever really guarantee Greek national borders and sovereignty. The EU is actually but a partial political union, focused mostly in economic and trading aspects, and even that is among nations with a great history of conflicting interests. After the ending of the Cold War, most EU countries were de-militarized to a great extend. The EU elites found other ways to make money for themselves, allowing the USA to play the global bully freely. So in the case of a hot Greek-Turkish incident, the EU would only be capable of throwing it's weight trying to cool down things through diplomacy, probably proposing a mutual withdrawal and the creation of "grey zones" in the Aegean sea by the demilitarization of the Greek islands etc. Exactly like it happened in the last Greek-Turkish crisis of 1996, in the island of "Imia". But any sovereign country should have the right to set-up it's defenses on it's own land according to it's perceived needs and threats. So IMO any EU intervention (or by the USA or NATO) could only go as far as discouraging a full scale war, and not really protecting the rights and sovereignty of Greece over it's own territory.

A declared "grey-zone" can hardly be considered national territory in it's true sense anymore. And Turkey is known for opportunistically exploiting any weakness of it's neighbors to serve it's strategic interests, like they exploited the favorable to them chaotic political circumstances in Greece and Cyprus with the "Attila" invasion of 1974. Greeks and Cypriots are well aware of this reality. Unfortunately, Israel is considered one of the few available military partners for Greece that is thought to be capable of getting it's hands dirty should the need arise. Something I personally doubt, as Israel has been proven to manipulate it's "allies" (even the "mighty" USA!) for it's own agenda in cold blood and without remorse. Russia could also have fulfilled this role of providing a real-life deterrence, if only Greek-Russian relationships were allowed to move on to another level by another Greek leadership. I guess due to the Greek economic and political crisis, the very real danger of ending up with a "grey zone" inside the Aegean (a status quo that once established may be reversible only with war), forced SYRIZA to make yet another really bad decision out of their own incompetence and political cowardliness. I can tell you the majority of Greeks are getting more furious with them by the day, and their future is thus painted with the darkest colors.

 

[SeekinTruth]

Thanks for the info, spyraal. I hope the political forces get shuffled in a way, with big public support, so that the Greek Parliament can officially declare the debt odious (an established legal term), fraudulent and illegal.

And yeah, the Greece-Israel military deal is nauseating!

 

[angelburst29]

An Appeal by MikisTheodorakis and other known Greek personalities, asking for respecting the No vote of the Greek people before the August 20th deadline.

Greece – A Dramatic Appeal by Mikis Theodorakis
http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2015/08/09/520812greece-a-dramatic-appeal-by-mikistheodorakis/

"The signatories are calling “all the peoples of the world, to realize that the struggle of the Greek people is also their struggle”.

Friends of Greece,

On 3 August 2015, MikisTheodorakis, the Greek world famous music composer and Resistance figure, called upon the Greek people – and the peoples of the world – to respect Democracy – the very Democracy, born in Greece some 2500 years ago and given to the world as a set of values for respect for each other, for humanity – for equal rights and for free expression.

He referred in particular to the Greek referendum in which the Greek people on 5 July 2015 voted with an overwhelming 61% against the continuation of the economic and financial strangulation of Greece by the infamous troika – the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Commission (EC) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Severe austerity imposed during the last 5 years has already caused misery and countless deaths especially among children and elderly, because of deprivation of vital medical services.

Instead of respecting the vote, the Tsipras Government has ignored it, made a U-turn and accepted even harsher austerity measures for an additional € 86 billion debt, of which not one euro would reach the Greek government for the restauration of its vital social services. Mr. Tsipras’ action is anti-constitutional and illegal.

The following text summarizes MikisTheodorakis’ appeal to stop the Syriza Government from selling out the Greek people’s country and stop the currently – almost in secret – ongoing negotiations with the troika on the modalities of the € 86 billion loan and the details of the new austerity measures – “negotiations” to be concluded by about 20 August 2015.

A dramatic appeal by MikisTheodorakis and other known Greek personalities, asking for respecting the No vote of the Greek people and defending Greece and democracy
3 August 2015

In a dramatic appeal to the Greek people (and all the peoples of the world), the music composer MikisTheodorakis, a world known symbol of Resistance to all oppressors and of struggles for freedom, democracy and independence, top Greek constitutional expert George Kasimatis, journalist and writer Dimitris Konstantakopoulos, Dr. Dimitris Bellantis of the CC of SYRIZA and tens of other known intellectuals, activists and politicians, ask for the respect of the will of the Greek people, directly expressed during the referendum of the 5th of July and for the immediate interruption of the program of “economic assassination” of Greece and its people, applied since 2010.

The direct mandate of the Greek citizens given through a referendum is mandatory, according to the most basic principles of any democratic state, of the Greek constitution and of European Law, it is stated in the appeal. The decision of the referendum cannot be changed by decisions of the government, of the parliament or of European institutions. It can be changed only by another referendum.

The respect of the will of the Greek people is the only way to preserve democracy and civil peace in Greece and democracy in Europe, it is also said in the appeal. It is the only way to save Greece and its people, from a total and unprecedented destruction. The program applied in Greece since 2010 constitutes a huge contravention of the Greek constitution, of the European and of the international law. It has already provoked the biggest, by far, economic and social disaster in Europe after 1945. Its interruption is a question of life or death for the Greek nation and the only way to preserve the most basic moral and material prerequisites for its survival. “It is better to stop this program in agreement with the other countries of the EU, but if this is not possible, we should do it unilaterally”, states the appeal.

The signatories warn that the new agreement signed by the Greek government, under pressure and blackmail and imposed by humiliating and illegal means to Greece, will lead, among other things, to the looting of the public and private property of Greeks, including their first residence, the land of the peasants and the Greek banks and to a new wave of massive emigration of young, well educated Greeks, in a moment the country needs them desperately.

The appeal is criticizing strongly the Greek government because it is acting, after the referendum, as if the Greeks had voted Yes. It is accusing it that, instead of organizing the defense of the country, it is itself disseminating discouragement, fear and even panic to the Greek people, in order to justify its policies.

The appeal reminds that the two governing parties are governing because they promised the interruption of the program applied in Greece. It is accusing them that, during three years and until the very last moment, they did not prepare themselves, the people and the country for the need to resist, in the very probable case that negotiations would fail. It is accusing them also of blindly believing assurances they had from abroad.

The signatories call on the Greek people, in those tragic moments of their history, “not to succumb, not to lose their courage and their capacity of a right judgment”. They call them to remember that their fathers and grand fathers were able to sustain, survive, resist and win under the most terrible conditions of the German occupation of 1941-44 and of the famine of the winter of 1941-42. They express the certainty that the Greek “sense of honor” (“filotimo”) and the patriotism will finally win over fear and the force of the enemy, leading to the victory of Greece, of Democracy and of Democratic Europe.

The appeal calls also the Greek people to organize and do everything possible to help the weakest confront the famine, the illness, the dispossession, to help people safeguard their dignity. It is calling Greek citizens to help sustain the most vital state and social functions, under direct threat from the new agreement imposed by European governments and institutions and to resist, everywhere they can and by whatever means they can, to the imposition of the new anti-popular measures.

The signatories of the appeal call to the Greek people to draw “the painful but necessary conclusions from their own experience and built a serious and credible front of resistance, not trusting again self-described saviors, adventurers and opportunists”.

The signatories are calling “all the peoples of the world, to realize that the struggle of the Greek people is also their struggle”.

They are calling especially “the Europeans who expressed solidarity with Greeks during the black period of military dictatorship, to stop the coup d’ etat their own governments organize in Greece”, in cooperation with IMF and ECB, under the guidance of the international Finance, in order to impose the dictatorship of the Creditors in Greece today, in all Europe tomorrow”.

“If the forces that have planned and are executing the transformation of a country of the European Union to a sort of Iraq or Libya, through “financial bombing” will win, they will destroy not only Greece but all human kind. In front of the new totalitarianism of the “Markets”, the same if not more dangerous than totalitarianisms of the ‘30s and ‘40s, we don’t have other alternative than to unite and fight. Tomorrow it risks being too late”, concludes the appeal.

The text of the appeal is signed by:

MikisTheodorakis

Venios Angelopoulos, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics, Athens National Polytechnic School, member of the Central Committee of SYRIZA

Dr. YiorgosVihas, doctor, member of the administration of the Medical Association of Athens, one of the creators of the movement of Social Medicine in Greece

KleanthisGrivas, psychiatrist and writer

Katerina Thanopoulou, Vice-president of the Regional Administration of Attica (the major agglomeration of the Athens region), responsible for social policy, member of the Central Committee of SYRIZA

Kostas Karaiskos, editor of the newspaper “Antifonitis” in Thrace

George Kasimatis. Professor Emeritus of constitutional law, Athens University, founding member and honorary President of the International Association of Constitutional Law, legal advisor of PM Andreas Papandreou

Father Andreas Kefaloyiannis, from the historic town of Anogeia in Crete (cradle of the Cretan revolutions and of the resistance to the Nazis during the occupation)

YannisKimpouropoulos, journalist

StathisKouvelakis, Professor of Political Science, King’s College, London, member of the Central Committee of SYRIZA

Nikos Koutsou, MP from Famagusta, one of the two Cypriot deputies resisting to the end the voting of the laws legalizing the financial coup in Cyprus, in 2013

MariosKritikos, vice president of the General Council of ADEDY (Union of Greek Public Servants)

Dimitris Konstantakopoulos, journalist and writer, coordinator of the “Delphi Initiative”, member of the editorial committee of the international review for self-management, “Utopie Critique”

LefterisKonstantinides, leading cadre of PAK, one of the main resistance formations during the military dictatorship (1967-74), ex-deputy of PASOK

Spyros Lavdiotis, economist and writer, ex high ranking official of the Central Bank of Canada

YannisMavros, member of the National Council for the Claiming of debts of Germany to Greece

YiorgosMoustakis, film director

Dimitris Bellantis, lawyer, Dr. in Constitutional Law, member of the Central Committee of SYRIZA

Maria Negreponti-Delivanis, Docteurd’Etatès Sciences Economiques (Sorbonne), three times elected Dean of the University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki

Panagiotis Pantelides, economist-researcher

Dimitris Patelis, Prof. of Philosophy, Polytechnic School of Kriti

James Petras, Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York, ex-advisor of PM Andreas Papandreou, ex-Director of the Institute of Mediterranean Studies in Athens, advisor of various Latin Americans leaders and movements

EleniPortaliou, Professor of Architecture, National Polytechnic School of Athens, member of the Central Committee of SYRIZA

Stathis (Stathis Stavropoulos), cartoonist

ThemosStoforopoulos, Ambassador

ΜihalisStylianou, journalist, director of the Greek emission of the French state Radio ORTF during the Greek military dictatorship

YannisSchizas, writer

FotisTerzakis, writer

Maria Fragiadaki, member of the Central Committee of SYRIZA, ex-member of the direction of GSEE (General Confederation of Workers of Greece)

StathisHabibis, physicist

 

[SeekinTruth]

Lots of good signatories for the appeal. Hope the Greek and other European people make a last stand with wide-spread demonstrations against the betrayal of the referendum.

 

[neonix]

_http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-03/in-cash-starved-greece-plastic-casts-light-into-shadow-economy

In Cash-Starved Greece, Plastic Casts Light Into Shadow Economy
by Maria Petrakis
August 3, 2015 — 7:01 PM

Greece’s banking crisis is having at least one positive outcome, and it’s made of plastic.

In a country where cash is king and undeclared transactions still make up about a quarter of the economy, about 1 million debit cards have been issued by banks since the government closed lenders for three weeks and imposed controls on euro bills. Emergency measures that some officials warned might spur the black market are showing signs of doing the opposite.

Alpha Bank SA issued about 220,000 cards in July, more than all of last year, as mainly pensioners realized that they had to access their money at cash machines and elsewhere, said Leonidas Kasoumis, general manager for household lending. Supermarket and gasoline sales paid by debit cards doubled in the wake of controls; usage in the countryside tripled, he said.

“Capital controls were a big trigger,” Kasoumis said. “It’s good for merchants, because cash is limited; it’s good for banks because it reduces operational costs. But the best news is for the economy.”

The restrictions on cash were introduced in late June as banks hemorrhaged money and were kept alive by a drip-feed from the European Central Bank. Greeks can withdraw 420 euros ($460) a week, though there’s no limit on spending with debit cards provided the transaction is within the country.

Collecting Taxes

What’s occurred is a shift that’s unprecedented for a country with the smallest number of electronic payments per head in the European Union, according to ECB figures.

The cash culture contributed to the country’s poor record in curbing the shadow economy and collecting taxes, one of the reasons that led Greece to seek its first bailout from its euro area partners and the International Monetary Fund in 2010.
Until last month, the vast majority of Greek pensioners didn’t even have a cash card, which led to the scenes in July of elderly Greeks lining up in despair outside banks

The increase in cards coming into circulation will help combat that, as more buying and selling of goods and services goes through the books, according to Theodore Kalantonis, deputy chief executive officer for retail banking at Eurobank Ergasias SA. Until now, payments on plastic accounted for 6 percent of the total, one of the lowest rates in Europe, he said.

Demand from businesses for card payment systems has surged, even from non-traditional customers such as dentists and doctors, according to Kalantonis.

Visa Cards

The largest bank, National Bank of Greece SA, issued more than 400,000 debit cards during the last four weeks.

The number of active Visa debit cards in Greece more than doubled in July from previous months, said Nikos Kabanopoulos, the country manager for Visa Europe.

The company, which processes almost 60 percent of Greek point-of-sale card payments, saw a 135 percent increase in card transactions in the two weeks immediately after the capital controls were imposed, Kabanopoulos said. In 2014, spending on Visa cards was 1 euro for every 37 euros compared to 1 euro for 6 euros in Europe as a whole, he said.

Until last month, the vast majority of Greek pensioners didn’t even have a cash card, which led to the scenes in July of elderly Greeks lining up in despair outside banks to get their pensions when the banks were shut down.

Now, the scenes are more likely to be that of family members helping the new cardholders.

More people have been asking to pay by card at the café where Alexandros Papadakis works at in central Athens since the controls were imposed. The establishment is looking into getting a system installed, the 31-year-old said.

“I hope it becomes a habit among all Greeks,” he said.

 

[Alana]

Alexander Mercouris posted the following yesterday. He has a new theory involving the Greek oligarchy and it sounds plausible. We should wait and see what he says during/after his Greek trip when he's done some investigation on the ground:

So I've been keeping an eye out, and on August 25 Alexander Mercouris posted this:

MYSELF AND GREECE
I have been going through something of a personal crisis following a deeply upsetting visit to Greece. There is much to say but I have difficult to write about what is for me a distressing subject. Unfortunately this has affected my writing generally, which is why I have not been posting very much. Hopefully I should be posting properly again soon.

And today, Russian Insider has this:

http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/syriza-insider-confirms-tsipras-tried-take-russia-ride/ri9463

Syriza Insider Confirms Tsipras Tried to Take Russia for a Ride
by Alexander Mercouris

Russia Insider has previously said Greek Prime Minister Tsipras’s approaches to Russia earlier this year during Greece’s negotiations with the European institutions were manipulative and were not intended to lead to a realignment with Russia.

Instead we said that Tsipras was trying to use Russia as a scarecrow to panic the Europeans into concessions.

We also said that though the Russians were initially willing to help, they quickly figured out what Tsipras was up to, so that beyond a certain point their offers of help became progressively less generous.

This was an isolated view. Pretty much all of the rest of the international media was reporting Tsipras’s approaches to Moscow differently. In fact there was a great deal of alarmed - or hopeful - talk about how Greece’s loyalty to the West was in jeopardy, and about how it was preparing to tilt towards Russia and the BRICS.

Confirmation that what we said was true has now come from Stathis Kouvelakis, a former member of Syriza’s central committee, who is close to Panayiotis Lafazanis, Greece’s former energy minister, who now heads Popular Unity, the new left wing grouping formed from former members of Syriza who oppose the latest bailout agreement.

Lafazanis as energy minister negotiated the gas pipeline deal with the Russians. He would therefore have had more intense discussions with the Russians than any other official in the Greek government. Comments from someone close to him, who was also a member of Syriza’s central committee in his own right, should therefore be considered authoritative.

Here is what Kouvelakis had to say in an interview for the French newspaper L’Humanite.

“……..fundamentally the Russians did not know what the Greeks wanted. They were extremely distrustful, since they had the impression that Greece’s moves toward an opening were being used as a card in its negotiations with the European institutions, as a PR tool.

The photos with Putin served as a means of exerting pressure, but it all remained very superficial, and they could tell that it was not going to be followed up with concrete commitments. And they did not appreciate being toyed with.”

This is exactly what we said.

This is not just a historical issue. We have also said that the pipeline deal with Russia negotiated by Lafazanis is doomed.

There continues to be a certain unwillingness to accept this fact with hopes that the deal can still be rescued - though the Russians are unlikely to have any such illusions.

It is indeed the case that the Greeks have on several occasions over the last few weeks assured the Russians that they are committed to the pipeline project.

This should be seen for what it is - an attempt by Tsipras to retain some credibility with his former supporters by not rushing to shelve a deal that is popular with them.

The reality is that with Greece now under the micromanagement of the European institutions there is no possibility of this project being seen through. The Europeans are bound to say it contravenes EU law - to be precise the Third Energy Package - and with Greece under their thumb there is no possibility of the Greeks saying no.

That means that it is only a matter of time before the pipeline deal goes the same way as South Stream.

Only one thing might save the project, and that is an election victory by Popular Unity.

With Popular Unity at present polling only in single figures that looks unlikely.

Even if Popular Unity wins, though the pipeline project may be saved, the realignment with Russia that many hope or fear is unlikely to happen.

As it happens, in his interview, on the subject of relations with Russia, Kouvelakis (who is now one of the leaders of Popular Unity) has some very interesting things to say:

“Developing relations with Russia or with China is not exactly the same thing.

The Chinese interest is in trade and business. We don’t want the privatizations that so attract the Chinese; but at the same time, they have made openings with regard to establishing a BRIC bank.

With Russia, it’s a different matter, since it takes an essentially geopolitical view: for Russia, economic interests are subordinate to this geopolitical outlook.

It is also clear that having relations with Russia in no sense means thinking that Putin is politically or ideologically close to us. This is a question of international relations.”

These sentiments are no less manipulative than those of Tsipras.

Instead of a serious intention to build a firm relationship based on mutual interest and trust, there is an arrogant assumption that Greece’s supposed geopolitical importance to Russia can be used to Greece's advantage.

Such an approach, if it is ever attempted, would be bound to fail since it grossly overestimates Greece’s geopolitical importance to Russia - which in reality is slight.

It is anyway simply wrong that the Russians subordinate their economic interests to their geopolitical goals. That is a common Western trope but there is no evidence to support it.

There continues to be a wide belief or hope that the genuine regard Greeks and Russians have for each other and their shared Orthodox faith somehow means that a political alignment of Greece and Russia is only a matter of time.

Those who entertain this hope are setting themselves up for disappointment.

When even one of the leaders of Greece’s main Leftist anti-euro party can only think of relations with Russia in a manipulative way, the conclusion has to be that prospects for a genuine partnership between Greece and Russia simply don’t exist.

 

[Windmill knight]

Very interesting piece of information Alana. It also says a lot of how smart and straight the Russians are. They've had enough of shenanigans, apparently.

 

[SeekinTruth]

Very interesting piece of information Alana. It also says a lot of how smart and straight the Russians are. They've had enough of shenanigans, apparently.

Yeah, I'll second that. Thanks for posting the update, Alana. There's a complete lack of trust that relationships and agreements can be made based on mutual interest and respect - a sign of today's world and why so many problems are getting out of hand.

 

[Mr.Cyan]

yeah the Russians are really astute to the great game, and know how to always cautiously make decisions to always at least remain neutral, or gain from their positions, but rarely "lose". A master class in strategy - I think just observing all the decisions they are making now to check the Empire's plan are already amazing lessons in strategic thinking...moves & countermoves

Thanks Alana as well for post - waiting too for the next Alexander Mercouris post. Will be interesting to see what further analysis he has on the situation in Greece...

 

[Aiming]

Very interesting piece of information Alana. It also says a lot of how smart and straight the Russians are. They've had enough of shenanigans, apparently.

Yeah, I'll second that. Thanks for posting the update, Alana. There's a complete lack of trust that relationships and agreements can be made based on mutual interest and respect - a sign of today's world and why so many problems are getting out of hand.

Indeed, and too bad authorities in Greece couldn't see what was being offered to them and that they basically resorted to the same old game, and good for the Russians that they didn't let themselves be fooled! Thanks for the update, Alana.

 

[Niall]

It's a good analysis, but there's no need for its negative slant. Of course Syriza would only be able to appear to cozy up to Russia, knowing that it could expect very little hard results in 6 months after decades and decades inside the Euro-Atlantic zone. It's not a question of whether or not the Russians were fooled by it; Putin would have understood when he stepped in front of the cameras with Tsipras that he was jointly sending a message to Merkel and Washington. The Atlanticists called Greece's bluff and pinned it to the wall. So the shocking truth about this situation is not that Greece 'tried to fool Mother Russia': it's that all she could do was play this stunt in the hope of forcing better terms with Germany. THAT shows you just how locked down the system is.

Steering the ship of state is hard at the best of times, especially if you want to produce decent results for people and you're only a tiny player.

 

[Faith]

Hello everyone :) I like to share with you a very interesting interview with former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis and his experiences with the beast. You also learn something about the German perspective. It gets most interesting at 15:30 when he talks about the undemocratic structure of the European zone. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kLS06QtWNE

 

[casper]

A few months ago Alexis Tsipras told the Greeks that nobody will seize the home.
today:

Greeks are cutting pensions and raise taxes
Link:
https://translate.google.hr/translate?sl=hr&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=hr&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vecernji.hr%2Fsvijet%2Fgrcki-parlament-odobrio-proracun-za-2016-1042754