Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Syriza Cites Greece’s Struggle for Economic Growth as Example for EU

The struggle for economic growth in Greece could become an example for other European countries to follow, Yiannis Milios, the ruling Syriza party's economic policy department head, told Sputnik Tuesday...

"We need development economics, and this is something all European countries are looking for. Greece was the first to struggle for this, but as we can see, there are people who think the same way everywhere, we want to become an example for everyone in Europe," Milios told Sputnik.

He mentioned that the austerity measures, that the previous government adhered to, triggered a "humanitarian crisis for the most vulnerable groups of society."

According to Milios, the renegotiation of the debt will touch upon domestic tax policy, though the exact steps the new government will make are still unclear. "We are asking for some fiscal space so that the country can have an opportunity for economic and social growth."

he politician underlined that the bailout debt became especially large as the previous government had a high initial surplus that not only "swallowed about two percent of the debt," but was also used to partially pay back the debt itself.

Milios explained that the debt rose from 115 percent to 175 percent GDP as the austerity measures provoked the current shrinking of the country's GDP.

New Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis announced last week that the Greek government would not seek to extend the bailout program and would not cooperate with the troika, which includes the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

On Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that any further debt relief for Greece is unlikely, as banks had already written off billions of the country's debt.

In 2010, the troika agreed to a $146 billion bailout package for Greece to prevent a default on its massive debt and imposed strict austerity measures as part of the country's economic adjustment program.

The left-wing Syriza party that gained victory in the latest parliamentary elections in Greece vowed to revise Greece's highly unpopular austerity measures.
 http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150203/1017719368.html#ixzz3QhK2LI1w

3/2/15
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2 comments:

  1. What are the aims of Greece's new government?...

    By Ye Jiang, Director of the Institute for Global Governance Studies of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, and Vice President of Shanghai Institute for European Studies

    On Jan. 26, Greece’s radical left Syriza party, which made a clean sweep in the general election, formed a coalition government with the small right-wing Independent Greeks (ANEL) party.

    Less than a week later, Alexis Tsipras, the new Greek Prime Minister and Syriza chief, made a series of moves to show his resolve to deliver the pledges he made in the election campaign, such as an end to austerity, pursuit of justice, halting privatization, reduction of tax rate and combating corruption.

    Tsipras stressed that the new government would formulate a plan that would focus on cracking down on corruption and increasing public investments, instead of cutting budget deficits, which the previous government had done for the past five years.

    Meanwhile, the new finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, declared that Greece would not discuss extending its bailout program with officials from the European Union (EU), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the European Central Bank (ECB).

    On Jan. 30, Varoufakis said at a press conference jointly held with Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the Eurogroup, that Greece wanted to balance its budget, and the key would be the eurozone and the ECB agreeing to write down Greek public debts.

    The main aims of the new Greek government are to write down debts and expand government spending................http://english.cntv.cn/2015/02/03/ARTI1422957263937611.shtml
    3/2/15

    ReplyDelete
  2. La lucha por el crecimiento económico de Grecia podrá ser un ejemplo para los demás miembros de la Unión Europea, afirmó el jefe del equipo económico de Syriza, Yiannis Milios...

    "Necesitamos una economía del desarrollo, es lo que todos los países europeos están buscando. Grecia ha sido la primera en luchar por ésta, y como en todas partes hay gente que piensa de la misma manera, queremos dar un ejemplo a todos en Europa", dijo Milios a Sputnik Nóvosti.

    Añadió que las medidas de austeridad aplicadas por el Gobierno anterior causaron "la crisis humanitaria para los grupos más vulnerables de la sociedad"...........Lea más en http://mundo.sputniknews.com/europa/20150203/1033942242.html#ixzz3QiKyxuR6
    3/2/15

    ReplyDelete

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