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Tiago Stichelmans

12 Jan 2017 10:57:29

Last December’s clash between the finance ministers of the Eurozone (the Eurogroup) and Greece shows how far we are from a long-term and sustainable solution to Greece’s debt issues. On 5 December, the Eurogroup endorsed proposals presented by the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) that will lead to symbolic debt relief and might represent up to a 20% debt reduction by 2060, according to the ESM. European governments did not take any further steps, however, as they remain divided on the future of Greece’s programme and most notably on the 3.5% fiscal surplus target after 2018. Even the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an organisation that can hardly be considered a radical leftist group, felt the need to clarify that it is not calling for more austerity for Greece and that the 3.5% ...

Tiago Stichelmans

26 Jun 2015 14:57:55

The Truth Committee of the Hellenic Parliament has just released a report investigating the origin of Greece’s public debt. It shows that the debt is unsustainable, illegitimate, illegal and odious. Syriza now has two alternatives: repudiate the debt unilaterally or restructure it on the basis of the report.  When Syriza formed a government at the beginning of the year, one of its main objectives was to restructure Greece’s public debt. This explains why the Hellenic Parliament established the ‘Truth Committee on Public Debt’ in April. The objective of this committee is to investigate the origins and increases in the public debt, as well as its consequences.  Two months later, while everyone is interested in knowing whether the Greek government and its creditors will reach ...

Bodo Ellmers

29 Jan 2014 17:24:44

The times when the Troika of the European Commission, European Central Bank (ECB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) could operate in the dark and on extralegal grounds seem almost over. The European Parliament just released its draft enquiry report on the role and operations of the Troika with regard to the euro area progamme countries. The report criticises the “generally weak accountability” of the Troika and the “lack of transparency” in negotiations with programme countries. The Parliament points out that there was no appropriate legal basis for setting up the Troika, and that the programme conditions did not pay respect to the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.  This report – welcomed by Eurodad - complements recent civil society initiatives to hold ...