|
RRI newsletter subcription
(e-mail address):
|
 |
Archives:
|
|
| Warnings for Greece and the Euro Zone |
| (2012-05-18) |
| Last updated: 2012-05-21 13:43 EET |
Greeks are going to the polls on June 17th with the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. Opinion surveys show that, although they wouldn’t give up the euro, they will channel their votes towards the radical left, an avowed opponent to the austerity plan Greece agreed upon with the international financial institutions- the EU, the IMF and the Central European Bank.
In this case, the prospect of a government that will comply with the commitments made to save the country from bankruptcy is rather grim and Greece leaving the euro zone is turning into a very likely scenario. The risk of domestic political turmoil causing the Greek state to leave the euro zone is so high that the Fitch rating agency downgraded Greece’s long-term debt rating from “B” to “CCC”.
The IMF decided to send a mission to Athens after the June elections to assess the reforms stipulated in the funding program. Without further financial aid, Greece will be left without money for public sector employees’ salaries and social programs before the end of June, given that it depends on the aid package worth 130 billion euros provided by the IMF and the EU. Because it can no longer ignore what until now seemed an unlikely scenario, not only an undesirable one, the European Central Bank temporarily halted funding operations towards some Greek banks, with a view to limiting risks.
The chairman of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, has stated that he will not compromise the institution’s principles and will not endanger its financial integrity just to save Greece. The political and financial battle for rescuing Greece is a tough one for the EU and the single currency. Analysts have warned that Greece’s leaving the euro zone will cause hard-to-estimate losses for the European Central Bank and the monetary bloc states.
The collapse of the Greek economy could thus trigger a financial earthquake that would send tsunami waves across the whole European continent. World Bank representatives are not the only ones who say the impact of the Greek crisis on the global economy will be damaging, recalling the consequences of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy of September 2008. Rescuing Greece is therefore a huge stake.
At the same time, the problems Greece is facing are indicative of a crisis that has always hovered over the euro zone, the British PM David Cameron believes. In his opinion, Europe should build up a stable monetary zone, with efficient protection walls, with strong banks and a burden-sharing system. Otherwise, Cameron warns, the EU will become an unchartered territory posing big risks for everybody.
|
|
| |
WMA |
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
MP3 |
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
128kbps : |
1
2
3
|
| |
AAC+ |
|
|
48kbps : |
1
2
3
|
|
|
64kbps : |
1
2
3
|
 Historical mascot of
RRI |
| |
© 1999 - 2011 Copyright Radio Romania International |
|
2025-04-03
Print
Listen again