If the eurozone thinks Greece can be blackmailed, it is wrong | Costas Lapavitsas | Comment is free

Syriza-Economist Costas Lapavitsas: “An exit from the Eurozone would not necessarily be chaotic” - Politik - Tagesspiegel
▻http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/syriza-economist-costas-lapavitsas-an-exit-from-the-eurozone-would-not-necessarily-be-chaotic/11874546.html

I think what happened in Brussels shows the enormous gap between the Greek side and the lenders’ side which will be hard to bridge. The Greek economy will not grow a lot this year and next, and thus achieving a primary surplus - even if it is very small - will be very difficult. It will require tax increases and spending cuts probably including pensions. These steps would be very difficult for the SYRIZA government to accept, because they go right against everything we promised to the Greek people. We have a major problem here.

#Grèce #Syriza #UE #FMI #austérité #retraites #salaires #négociations #euro #eurozone #grexit

If the eurozone thinks Greece can be blackmailed, it is wrong | Costas Lapavitsas | Comment is free | The Guardian
▻http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/09/eurozone-greece-blackmail-wrong?CMP=share_btn_tw

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The proposals by the Syriza government represent a painful compromise compared to its electoral promises. It has accepted tight fiscal targets, and to achieve them it is offering to raise VAT on several goods, while also imposing a substantial tax burden on the rich, thus achieving some redistribution. It has also toned down its policies on privatisation and pensions. In return it is asking the troika for an immediate injection of liquidity, as well as for a serious commitment to reduce Greek debt and to promote long-term investment. There is hardly anything revolutionary, nor even particularly radical, in these demands.

The response of the eurozone creditors, judging by a leaked “official” document, has been ruthless. They have set fiscal targets slightly above those of Syriza, but to achieve these they are demanding a substantial increase in VAT, including a rise of 10% on electricity, thus hitting the poorest where it hurts.

#grèce #négociations