MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
EU leaders warn Greeks the referendum vote means “yes or no to the Euro zone”
European leaders have warned Greeks that rejecting creditors' proposals in a snap referendum called for Sunday would mean leaving the Euro. German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said the vote would be “yes or no to the Euro zone”. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesThe Greeks will say “ NO” and put the ball in the EU's court, bit like Argentina kicking the ball down the road, eventually they will have to deal with 30 something inflation. They bent the rules so that Greece could enter the EU now it is coming back to bite them on the foot. Thank God that Britain did not enter ( monetary system ) although we plow in Billions to keep the EU solvent.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 08:28 am - Link - Report abuse 0We laugh at earlier generations for thinking the earth was flat or that the left-handed were of the devil. I sometimes wonder what future generations will laugh at us for. I'm guessing trying to keep Greece in the Euro will be at least one of them. That this generation developed the internet and stem cells and graphene will only make their confusion worse. How could the same people who did all that also try to keep an unproductive economy tied to a strong currency and at the very point where they had been proven wrong, then redouble their efforts?
Jun 30th, 2015 - 08:46 am - Link - Report abuse 0Tsipras is a complete toss-pot. It is all about him and his dignity. If the public votes Yes he will quit (unless he does a Farage). He has been elected to serve the interests of the people of Greece. If they vote Yes, he should do their bidding. And he should find a tie if he wants to be taken seriously.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 09:05 am - Link - Report abuse 0That aside, the opinion polls (we know all about them) are swinging wildly. It could go either way. I personally think Greece should bit the bullet and leave. They can't leave their debts unpaid but they could devalue and make like at home more sustainable in the long run. JMO
Just default already so I can buy my Euros cheaper.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 09:28 am - Link - Report abuse 0Yes I don't care. I slog my guts out in a rainy grey concrete jungle and get taxed to the hilt, whilst they have for the longest time hardly ever paid tax, retired early on full pensions, 2 hour siesta lunch breaks on windswept balmy islands surrounded by blue sea.
They have max'd out the countries credit cards to live an easy and care free life in the sun and now it's time to pay up.
They should never have entered the Eurozone to begin with.
thank God for Syriza.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 09:51 am - Link - Report abuse 0Greece needs to leave the euro.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 10:18 am - Link - Report abuse 0However they will more than likely stay in the EU.
And the simplistic notion that the euro or EU will fail or disappear is about as likely as the Falklands adopting Spanish as their national language.
The UK are in the EU but not the Euro. It is foolish to apply a one-fits-all currency to such diverse economies. Still, Germany made a fortune out of selling the idea. Greece is realising it was offered membership to a club it could not afford to be a part of.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 10:43 am - Link - Report abuse 0They just need to pull the plaster off. It will be terrible for a while as their Euro-denominated mortgages soar as their Drachma weakens, but at least in the long-term there is then the possibility to trade their way out of this. The clincher is knowing just how much the Drachma will devalue relative to the Euro in which case they certainly won't want a left-wing government undermining its value at the outset.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 10:54 am - Link - Report abuse 0The “experts” in the EU are forecasting mayhem for everybody, even the USA is getting worried.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 11:25 am - Link - Report abuse 0So what if a bunch of wasters are thrown out of the EU? Yes, there will be a short term hiatus in the markets but isn't that always so?
They just need to get on with it.
The euro was too ambitious. Typical political idea without a strong economic reason.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 12:14 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The EU should have created 3 different currencies by grouping similar economies together. A Nordic euro, a Central Europe euro and a Mediterranean euro. Each could have had different interest rates and floated against each other. It is highly unlikely that these 3 regions will ever have perfect economic synchronisation.
Greece needs to leave the euro because it doesn't work for Greece. However much of the population also remembers how weak and badly run their currency was before the euro so expect many to try to stay in.
The EU leaders are getting a good lesson in democracy. They expected Alexis Tsipras to accept their conditions and betray those who elected him. The European outrage at the decision to hold a referendum clearly shows it.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 02:18 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The millions in debt that the Greeks are supposed to pay back with blood and tears never did anything for the people--but served well corrupt former officials and European financial institutions.
The crisis reveals the failures of a corrupt financial system based on greed and recessionary recipes tried time and again in Latin America--with similar results--by the IMF and the central powers. Only, this time the Greeks are the new “Latinos” whose love for party and siesta is causing these “unbearable” European headaches.
Reekie, Why do you consider it to be “democracy” when a people/country refuses to pay their bills?
Jun 30th, 2015 - 02:55 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I don't think you know what that terms means.
The Greeks are lazy and don't produce anything. They are the Argentinians of Europe.
The dominos should start to fall, just like I said they would....
6 Skip
Jun 30th, 2015 - 04:07 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Greece needs to leave the euro. ”
We all need to leave the EU as well Skip. There is nothing good about the EU. It's time to bring this failed experiment to a close.
Get out now and get our country back.
#12 yankeeboy
Jun 30th, 2015 - 04:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“the Argentinians of Europe”
Sir, that is an unforgivable slur against the Greek nation. I agree that they are corrupt, lazy, untruthful and don't produce anything, but no where as bad as the Argentinians.
the Greeks are the pirates of Europe .... oh no wait....seems thats taken.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 05:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@3. Sorry, but you have no idea. Tsipras was elected with an anti-austerity mandate. The thieving EU, IMF etc. demand austerity. So Tsipras asks the people. Real democracy. Not the fake EU version. I thought the EU was about “solidarity”. That would be Franco-German solidarity and sod the rest.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 05:30 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@10. Europe isn't Australia. There was nothing wrong with the existing currencies. Each designed for the relevant country. The euro is just a political device. It should be abolished and the rest of the world should cease to recognise it.
@11. Oh look, LatAm has a corrupt financial system. Who just said so?
@15. Indeed. That's the spanish.
Apparently the EU president feels insulted,
Jun 30th, 2015 - 07:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0the French and Germans are livid at the fact these plebs dare even answer them back,
to be honest and in my opinion,
Greece should just slide out of the Euro, and let happen, what will happen,
yes in the short term she may well be badly hurt, but in the long term I feel she will benefit greatly,
but as said before, until she finally quits, then the Euro leaders will think it just a bluff,
Go Greece, Go.
Greece overplayed their hand. They thought there would be a big negative market reaction and so far...nada.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 07:17 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Like Argentina nobody cares if they live or die.
Just go away and stop bothering everyone.
17 Briton
Jun 30th, 2015 - 07:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“Apparently the EU president feels insulted”
Really? Greece biting “the hand that feeds them”??? That can only mean that the Greeks have started thinking for themselves then. Never a good thing in a pseudo-communist super state.
ANYTHING that insults the EU president has GOT to be a good thing!!
Roll on Sunday I say!! Roll on Sunday!!
Stick it to them Greece go on!! Show us all “the way”.
There is only one way out of this situation and it is to default and live the poor life for 20 years with the Drachma. The sooner they and everyone else accepts this the better.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 09:36 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@ 20 Britworker
Jun 30th, 2015 - 09:50 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“live the poor life for 20 years with the Drachma”
It's all coming full circle then!
The previous attempts with the Drachma were just as corrupt. In other words it's down to the Greeks themselves.
I don't think they will struggle for that long. Iceland devalued, what?, 60% and tourism has gone through the roof. Greece relies on tourism and making it a cheap holiday destination could help it recover faster. Probably why France, Spain and Italy don't want Greece to leave the Euro.
Jun 30th, 2015 - 09:52 pm - Link - Report abuse 022. People in Iceland work. Greeks are lazy and don't make anything.
Jul 01st, 2015 - 12:57 am - Link - Report abuse 0You can not make a country rich through long term devaluation. If that was the case Argentinians and Zimbabweans would be the richest people in the World.
Alas they're not and never will be.
#23. Yankeeboy
Jul 01st, 2015 - 02:41 am - Link - Report abuse 0Zimbabweans are the Argentines of Africa....
Now apologize for your #12 comment...
Oh, clever Greeks. They say “Yes”..... and “No”.
Jul 01st, 2015 - 01:54 pm - Link - Report abuse 0YB. You need to look at the overall picture. The EU wanted Greece to be “IN”. So it connived at dodgy accounting. Just like the EU doesn't bother with proper auditing. Be honest, if a company or corporation acted as the EU does in respect of audits, they would be in court. The Greeks had been promised prosperity. They took it. Then the EU ran into a brick wall. In terms of economy, the UK is doing better than the EU, thanks very much. Because we refused to sign up to a political model for our economy. The EU has a political model currency that is failing. Because it's basically worthless. Now, who encouraged the Greeks? Isn't the EU about solidarity? It's certainly solid between its combined ears. If it had any sense it would help Greece out of the current problem and wean it on to proper economic methods. I don't know exactly how to compare this to the US, but I'll go out on a limb. Las Vegas is essentially a tourist town. If there were events that stopped tourists, gamblers and the like travelling to Las Vegas, would you be saying that Vegas was lazy and produces nothing?
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