October 5, 2011
Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos came into office offering a fresh start in his nation's financial crisis. But he began with more of the same.
When the 54-year-old politician made his debut at an emergency meeting of euro zone finance ministers on June 19, his country was teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and desperate for more aid to avoid default. The burly constitutional lawyer began his presentation by seeking to renegotiate an austerity program his predecessor had only recently concluded with European Union and International Monetary Fund inspectors. Greece needed easier terms, he said.
"Venizelos started with excuses as to why they have to change some parts of the program to buy parliamentary support," said one participant in the confidential Sunday-night meeting in Luxembourg.
The euro zone's point man in the talks, a normally mild-mannered Finn named Olli Rehn, exploded. The EU's executive arm would refuse to sign off on Greece's compliance with its bailout program, the 49-year-old economic and monetary affairs commissioner told Venizelos. Athens would get no further emergency loans, Rehn said, according to the participant. "I will not put my signature to the compliance report on behalf of the Commission," Rehn said.
More
No comments:
Post a Comment