Little time? End of the text there’s a summary.
The Chancellor wanted to talk about refugees. To enhance the mood, she had added François Hollande asked the French president and great friend of the Greeks. Angela Merkel’s wish list is long: After its journey across the Aegean refugees enter in Greece for the first time the floor of the European Union, here they are to be registered and, if necessary, sent back to their homeland. But Alexis Tsipras, the Greek Prime Minister, arrived at the edge of the EU summit soon to speak on the subject that it far more oppressed: the economic crisis in his country and the practices of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In particular, the European head of the IMF to the displeasure of the Greeks had suffered. In a blog entry Poul Thomson had denounced “priceless generous” pension system of the Greeks and even demanded tougher austerity measures. A transgression of the first rank, to Tsipras outraged.
The Greek Prime Minister is thus for the first time a connection that in the federal government and in Brussels should not give it to the official version: the link between debt – and refugee crisis.
Only last July had put the ailing country a new aid package totaling up to 86 billion euros promised the Europeans. In return, the Greeks pledged to strict reform conditions, including billion should be saved in the pension system.
“The Grexit comes on resubmission”
But now the country is at the center of European refugee drama, a crisis that the EU may be threatened even more than the years of struggle for the euro. Is it the will of Eastern European countries, Macedonia should close its border – what Greece could wreak havoc. The backlog of refugees would be already a massive overwhelmed the country with the supply.
In Brussels already concern going another dramatic showdown with the Greeks. “The Grexit comes in June for resubmission”, it says. The IMF even assumes that the Greeks are already in late March have difficulties to repay their debts. Until then, 5.5 billion euros are due. And no one knows where Greece should take the money without assistance from the new program.
Therefore, hope the Greeks these days on leniency when it comes to work through the Euro-reform package. Officials Commission and Ministry of Finance emphasize though, there will be no compromise on the demands for reform. However, the practice is different.
The EU Task Force, which was originally help the Greeks to bring their Byzantine tax authorities on their toes, currently cares mainly for the construction of refugee camps. Since last Monday additional EU teams in the country to help in the event of a humanitarian crisis.
The European Commission and the German Chancellor will definitely prevent that it comes in Greece for emergency when accumulate because of border closures tens of thousands of refugees in the country. Without bigger fuss, the Commission last week has therefore again paid 13 million euros to the Greeks to build new accommodations, 2015, such emergency aid totaled at least 146 million euros.
Merkel caught in the middle
Many Europeans are now pushing into the debt crisis to an easing of austerity measures. But since the IMF does not matter with. He blocked the long overdue first audit report by the Greek reform progress, of which a positive result depends its participation in the third bailout.
IMF experts point out that Greece had promised permanent budget surpluses of 3.5 percent of gross domestic product in the year. This is only possible through a further reduction of pensions, because the country is simply not succeed to tax the really rich enough.
Many of the European Commission would like to do without the IMF. Too bad that Chancellor Merkel whose farewell in installments may not need. She is due to the large number of refugees in Germany already under severe pressure, and also for their Greece-policy many Union MPs had raised only the hand in the Bundestag, because the Chancellor had put a further IMF involvement in prospect.When Monetary Fund shows you look at the face of such political calculations unimpressed. “If the pension reform can not be as deep and significant as hoped, there must be greater debt relief,” said IMF chief Lagarde recently. Leading IMF experts leave no doubt that it would not be the fund that finances this. “That is the task of the Europeans,” they say.
Tsipras’ chances of milder reform requirements are still not bad. Because the mood in Brussels is not as severe as in Washington. The European Commission is currently looking not even the Stability and Growth Pact closely. Countries such as Austria and France were able to prevail recently that expenditure that make the States for the refugees, should not be counted against the Maastricht deficit criterion. A precedent that now also the far more affected by the crisis Greeks may rely
In Video: Stranded in Athens – terminus for refugees .
summary : Because Greece is hit particularly hard by the growing number of migrants, pushing many Europeans to a relaxation of the austerity. But the International Monetary Fund is transversely located. Chancellor Merkel in the crossfire, because she wants the country on the one hand not be with the refugee problem down – on the other hand it has the Union’s votes for a third bailout package only get it because the IMF has further pledged its support.
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