ECB denies ‘blackmailing’ Greece just before crunch Berlin talks – reside
Markets fall as Alexis Tsipras is due to tell Angela Merkel demands made of his government are “impossible”
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, welcomes Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras as he arrives at the chancellery in Berlin Photo: Tobias Schwartz/AFP
• Tsipras says his government will not confiscate German buildings as WWII compensation
• “We must avoid creating new divisions in Europe” – Tsipras
• No lasting agreement reached – Chancellor Merkel
• Euro rises by 1pc against the dollar to $ 1.09
• Athens stocks up 2pc; German index falls before bail-out talks
18.26 So what to make of today’s talks? In general there were plenty of conciliatory noises coming from both camps, but very little detail on what, if anything, Athens has put forward in terms of reform proposals.
Both the Chancellor and PM insisted the bail-out talks were a discussion to be had for the Eurogroup.
18.19 The best summary of today’s talks in one neat pic
18.10
Looks like it was a good meeting. Conciliatory tone by Tsipras, very different that his statemnts in #Greece . #Merkel
— Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) March 23, 2015
18.06 And that’s it for the press conference. A frustrating lack of detail revealed about the plans for Greece’s potential reform bills, but it was all smiles from Ms Merkel and Mr Tsipras, despite the admission of a “heated” debate between the two.
18.04 PM Tsipras describes his country’s “medium term” liquidity problems as “well known”. In a letter to the Chancellor before today, he described Greece as having a small “cash flow” problem.
18.00 Still plenty of WWII talk going on right now.
On that contentious magazine cover portraying Ms Merkel with Nazi commanders in Athens, Mr Tsipras says it was “unfair” on the Chancellor and a provocation.
#Greece ‘s Tsipras: Der Spiegel cover was unfair to #Germany , provocative.
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) March 23, 2015
#Tsipras : Today’s Germany has nothing in common with the Third Reich. I was angry at the Nazi caricatures in my own party’s newspaper
— Geoffrey Smith (@Geoffreytsmith) March 23, 2015
17.58 On the question of German reparations to Greece, Ms Merkel says she acknowledges the destruction cause by the Nazi occupation and it won’t be “ignored” as an issue in Greece, but the question of compensation is closed.
Comment from journalist in Greek about the war was more a statement than a question. He told #Merkel Germany has historical responsibility
— Damian Mac Con Uladh (@damomac) March 23, 2015
17.55
#Greece ‘s Tsipras: No one said German buildings will be confiscated.
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) March 23, 2015
Tsipras says will implement bold reforms, but as usual only mentions tax evasion. Never says anything on competitiveness, investment etc.
— Simon Nixon (@Simon_Nixon) March 23, 2015
#Tsipras : The Goethe Institute will not be closed.
— Damian Mac Con Uladh (@damomac) March 23, 2015
17.50 PM Tsipras is asked whether he is confident the country will get the cash it needs to remain solvent.
Tsipras: “My goal is not to ask for money to pay for next month’s salaries from Germany – that is not the institutional process of the EU.”
“We know the problems of the past and we’re trying to fix them for the better solution of the European Union. The problem is not just Greece’s, but it is for the whole of the eurozone.”
“We trying to avoid division and find a common solution within the EU so we can go foward with the cooperation of the institutions and then we will hopefully have a solution for liquidity for Greece.”
17.46 Time for the Q&A…
First up for Ms Merkel from a Greek journalist: did the Greek PM convince you with his proposals and the reforms he showed you?
Ms Merkel: questions about liquidty and the correcteness of certain mesaures are taken by the finance ministers of the Eurogroup. Today we can only discuss, rather than make any promises. I cannot make promises on liquity for Greece.
17.45 On the trick question of reparations…
#Greece ‘s Tsipras: War reparations is an ethical issue.
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) March 23, 2015
17.41 The sounds from Mr Tsipras seem pretty conciliatory for now
#Greece PM Tsipras: It is wrong to blame others for our problems
— Efthimia Efthimiou (@EfiEfthimiou) March 23, 2015
RT @ekathimerini : #Tsipras : “There is no other way to understand each other than to engage in dialogue” #Greece #Merkel
— Efthimia Efthimiou (@EfiEfthimiou) March 23, 2015
Tsipras: Our common goal now must be to implement big reforms.
— Simon Nixon (@Simon_Nixon) March 23, 2015
#Tsipras “As #Merkel told me on the phone the other day, it’s better for us to talk to each other than let others talk about us” #Greece
— Kathimerini English (@ekathimerini) March 23, 2015
17.40 Welcome to our world
Neither Merkel nor Tsipras wearing earpieces AFAICS. Presumably neither has any idea what the other is saying.
— Tom Nuttall (@tom_nuttall) March 23, 2015
17.40 Mr Tsipras is up now.
#Greece PM Tsipras: I would like to thank Merkel for the chance she gave me to exchange views re the European future
— Efthimia Efthimiou (@EfiEfthimiou) March 23, 2015
17.33 And we’re up. Ms Merkel speaking first. No English translation is being provided so unless PM Tsipras decides to speak in English, we’re beholden to German tweets for now
RT @damomac : #Merkel : Germany is not the institution that evaluates #Greece reform programme
— Efthimia Efthimiou (@EfiEfthimiou) March 23, 2015
#Germany ‘s Merkel says talks held w/ Tsipras in spirit of keeping trust, cooperation. Says talked about Greece meeting conditions.
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) March 23, 2015
#Germany ‘s Merkel says #Greece needs structural reforms, solid budget.
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) March 23, 2015
#Merkel : We want a strong Greece, with growth, and that unemployment, especially among the youth, is reduced. #Tsipras
— Damian Mac Con Uladh (@damomac) March 23, 2015
17.32 As we wait, some more of those bizaare snaps of Mr Tsipras being regaled with the full military German greeting earlier today
17.20 The stage is set for today’s press conference. You can watch live here (may only be in German or Greek for now however)
17.10 The anti-austerity leader was spotted sitting in standard class on his way to Berlin earlier today
Greece’s prime minister Alexis Tsipras sitting “coach” on his way to his meeting with Merkel..
— Professor Drou (@ProfessorDrou) March 23, 2015
16.50 At last week’s European Council meeting, PM David Cameron said his government’s economic policy had rescued the UK from a Greek-like fate.
Our Political Correspondent, Matthew Holehouse has been listening to the PM in the Commons today having a ding-dong with the leader of the Opposition, Ed Miliband, on the topic of government’s having to make tough decisions:
“On the one hand you have the creditor nations who want to see Greece fulfill its programme. On the other you have Greek government that doesn’t seem at the moment to come up with reforms which give their creditors confidence.
“One of the lessons you have to learn here and he ( Miliband ) needs to learn it is government involves difficult decisions, and the Greeks still have to make difficult decisions.”
16.40 As talks get underway between the two premiers in Berlin, Mario Draghi is having a busy day.
He’s now addressing an audience at the European Stability and Risk Board, and has made a veiled comment about the health of Greek banks, insisting they remain solvent – for now.
The ECB’s emergency liquidity help is contingent on Greek banks remaining solvent. Should the ECB decide this has changed, they could vote to pull the plug on ELA, thus cutting the last link between Greek banks and the eurozone.
Draghi: Greek banks are solvent at present. All relevant capital ratios above minimum requirements
— ECB (@ecb) March 23, 2015
16.15 Irony of the welcome ceremony not lost on many
#Germany ‘s Merkel welcomes #Greece ’s #Tsipras with military honors in Berlin.
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) March 23, 2015
16.05 And here are the two leaders before the talks
Great pic RT @YanniKouts : Dusk… RT @Efkouts Merkel meets @atsipras now in Berlin
— Edward Harrison (@edwardnh) March 23, 2015
16.00 The meeting is due to start officially at 4pm. Angela Merkel is at the Chancellery building in Berlin right now.
#Merkel now
— EfiKoutsokosta (@Efkouts) March 23, 2015
15.48 Merkel is in the building…
#Merkel just arrived in the Chancellery..
— EfiKoutsokosta (@Efkouts) March 23, 2015
15.40 The ECB: unpopular amongst Greeks and Germans.
In the latest brouhaha over eurozone QE, three German businessman are seeking to block the bond-buying programme, claiming it contravenes the Maastricht Treaty’s prohibition of monetary financing of governments.
Entrepreneurs Heinrich Weiss, Patrick Adenauer and Juergen Heraeus are seeking to challenge QE at the German Constitutional Court, having already taken the ECB to court over its Outright Monetary Transaction (OMT) scheme announced in 2012.
According to one of the claimants: “QE is a quantum leap, which essentially means countries’ debt is being financed via the printing press.”
The central bank’s action (and inaction) seems to be winning it no friends among debtor and creditor countries, which means it’s probably just about doing OK.
15.30 Mario Draghi is also looking suitably pleased with himself having thoroughly repudiated any claims that the ECB was “blackmailing” Athens by refusing to increase its liquidity support.
#EPhoto @ECB ‘s #Draghi at the @EP_Economics for #monetarydialogue & new #QE policy. Live now http://t.co/RYobItSlLA
— EU Parliament Photo (@Europarl_Photo) March 23, 2015
Any move to reinstate a waiver on Greek bonds had to come from the Eurogroup of finance ministers as well as the bank, said Mr Draghi.
15.25 Love is in the air, outside the German chancellory building where the two leaders are due to meet very shortly. A protest organised by Avaaz, shows that Greco-German solidarity is not in short supply today.
The protest includes representatives from the far-Left German party De Linke too.
Die Linke showing their support for @tsipras_eu outside the German chancellery. His visit kicks off shortly.
— Tom Nuttall (@tom_nuttall) March 23, 2015
15.10 Mario Draghi has been asked if the ECB is “blackmailing” Athens; he’s not impressed with the line of questioning:
“Let me disagree with you on almost everything you said” tells #Draghi to communist MEP. “No blackmail” on #Greece .
— Siegfried Muresan (@SMuresan) March 23, 2015
Draghi: It’s a bit rich (to accuse ECB of blackmail), 104bn in exposure to Greece, = 65pc of Greek GDP – what sort of blackmail is this?
— Tony Connelly (@tconnellyRTE) March 23, 2015
14.50 ECB chief Mario Draghi is chipping in to the Greek debate, after he came in for some fierce criticism from Mr Tsipras last week.
Mr Draghi has defended the ECB’s stance on banning Greek bonds as collateral and reaffirmed his position that Athens prove its commitment to reforms.
Draghi: The Greek government should commit to fully honour its debt obligations to all its creditors
— ECB (@ecb) March 23, 2015
Draghi: We are ready to reinstate the waiver as soon as the conditions for a successful conclusion of the review are in place
— ECB (@ecb) March 23, 2015
Draghi underlines need for structural reforms, doesn’t elaborate result of quantitative easing without sufficient structural reforms, #ECB
— Gunnar Hökmark (@ghokmark) March 23, 2015
14.50 ECB senior governing board member Benoit Coeure has been speaking in Montenegro today, and has hinted at creditors coming to a “new arrangement” on Greece’s bail-out, which will reflect the domestic priorities of the anti-austerity government.
Mr Coeure in full:
“It is understood that the programme will be amended to reflect the new priorities of the Greek government … to make sure than any change of the programme reaches an equivalent outcome in terms of … fiscal sustainability,” he said .
“That’s what will be discussed in the next days.”
14.35 First came the demand for German war reparations, and now, Athens wants €100m from German defence companies who, it is alleged, paid bribes to win defence contracts in the country, report Ekathimerini.
The Greek paper says both German and Greek companies were involved in the bribery of officials, in return for securing contracts for the provision of helicopters and submarines.
A Greek defence ministry source confirmed to Reuters that Greece would seek compensation as part of an investigation that includes other cases.
14.20 About 90 mins before the meeting is due to take place, and here’s a snap of PM Tsipras’ convoy arriving in Berlin from the airport this morning. Picture courtesy of Joerg Carstensen/EPA
14.10 Things you don’t expect to see in Berlin: the last name of Greek finance ministe on the wall of a shopping mall (courtesy of Reuters)
14.05 Greek bank deposits have take a battering in recent weeks. So far, the European Central Bank has shown no willingness to ease the squeeze on the lenders, raising its emergency liquidity caps by very small increments every fortnight or so.
But, in some welcome news that should stem the flow for 24 hours at the very least, Wednesday is a bank holiday in Greece. March 25 marks the anniversary of the Greek War of Independence, when the country threw off the yoke of the Ottoman empire.
13.55 Germany’s anti-euro Alternative for Germany (AfD) party have put out a manifesto of sorts today. The newly founded party want Germany to stay in the euro, but would prefer Greece to get the boot.
The FT’s Peter Spiegel’s got hold of the key points of the AfD’s Grexit plans:
Everyone wants to get into the act: @AfD_Bund issues “manifesto for Greek recovery”. Which is basically #Grexit
— Peter Spiegel (@SpiegelPeter) March 23, 2015
13.45 Some Greco-German bonhomie ahead of today’s meeting. German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with his greek counterpart in Germany yesterday, in what has been officially described by Athens as a “constructive climate.”
FM @NikosKotzias met w/ his German counterpart, F.W. #Steinmeier , in a very constructive climate http://t.co/AqDZ1KYJds
— ????????? ?????????? (@GreeceMFA) March 23, 2015
13.30 Markets are in the red, but the single currency is enjoying a bit of a surge against the dollar. That could be more to do with the Fed’s announcement last week on a potential September delay on its first post-crash interest rate rise.
The single currency is up around 1pc today, which means you can now get $ 1.09 for a euro.
But as Kathleen Brooks at Forex.com notes, even an acrimonious end to today’s meeting may not see the euro collapse.
“The euro actually rose during the last period of Greek-induced volatility, during the general elections in January. Thus, we are wary of looking for the euro to falter this week, especially as the market seems happy to take profit”, said Ms Brooks.
13.15
Varoufakis’ Planned Trip To London For Tomorrow Has Been Cancelled /via RT @livesquawk | Middle finger to City?
— Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) March 23, 2015
13.10 Shorter Greece…
Summary of Greek-EU negotiations: Greece: If you don’t help us, we’ll go bust. EU: Indeed. Greece: That would be bad. EU: Yes.
— Axel Merk (@AxelMerk) March 23, 2015
13.00 Speaking to the Telegraph this weekend, Mario Monti – technocrat extraordinaire who rescued Italy from the height of its eurozone woes – said he fought to keep the Troika (ECB, IMF, European Commission) out of the country when Prime Minister.
The economist told Szu Ping Chan that the lenders “contributed to the damage” caused in Greece. His quotes in full:
“In a nutshell, Greece has to recognise that most causes of their crisis are not European but are Greek – namely mismanagement for decades,” said Mr Monti.
“Nevertheless, it is true that one aspect of the cure – the troika – did contribute to make further damage. I fought for the troika to stay out of Italy because they are humiliating for domestic public opinion”.
12.55 In disappointing news for British journalists, Yanis Varoufakis has cancelled his appearance in London at a conference tomorrow. That’s suddenly freed up my afternoon. Thanks Yanis.
Reuters reporting that Greek fin min Varoufakis has cancelled his trip to London planned for Tuesday
— Tony Connelly (@tconnellyRTE) March 23, 2015
12.50 The reparations claims has certainly stirred debate in Germany itself.
This was the controversial front-page of Spiegel magazine over the weekend, showing the current Chancellor surrounded by Nazi commanders outside the Acropolis. The headline reads: “How Europeans Look At Germans.”
The cover of Der Spiegel this week is kind of remarkable, I must say. #Greece
— Wessel de Cock (@djehoety) March 20, 2015
12.40 Relations between Greece and Germany reached a nadir two weeks ago when PM Tsipras revived his call for Berlin to pay back Nazi war reparations to his country.
The claims, which were a demand of Syriza’s pre-election bid, would see more than €160bn in historical claims paid to the families of victims of the brutal destruction caused by the Nazi occupation in 1941.
Interestingly, Ms Merkel’s junior coalition partner have recognised the validity of the demands.
But in further incendiary comments, members of the Greek parliament have touted seizing German assets in the country, including holiday homes and the Goethe Institute as compensation.
The question is likely to be raised again between the two premiers. Might make for some awkward small talk.
12.30 European stocks are down for the morning ahead of today’s second meeting between Angela Merkel and Alexis Tsipras in just five days.
The FTSE has fallen back 0.36pc from Friday’s close while Germany’s DAX 30 index shed 0.96pc and the CAC 40 in Paris slid 0.67pc this morning.
12.10 Greek procrastination on implementing its much needed reforms has frustrated many of its fellow member states.
Speaking to the FT today, Spain’s finance minister was the latest to voice his unease at the requests from Athens for bail-out cash without any tangible moves to overhaul their economy.
Luis de Guindos told the Pink ‘Un Greece was losing friends with its approach:
“We will see whether the list of reforms is comprehensive enough or not. [But] there will not be any disbursement before there is a real test that the reforms have been approved and implemented. That is the approach.”
“We have been losing time, and the communications from the Greek side have not been brilliant. They have not made a lot of friends.There is no sign of divisions — not at all. And that is despite the fact that the Greeks have tried to exploit potential divergences. But those divergences don’t exist.”
12.00 German tabloid Bild is marking the arrival of Mr Tsipras in Berlin today by publishing this 50 Reason We Love Greece extravaganza.
It’s a remarkable list and includes gems such as: ” no 9: their surnames are so long we prefer to respond with the same name ” and honourable mentions for the German football manager that won Euro 2004 with Greece, and the likes of Hercules and Odysseus alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger
And in case you missed it, their front-page was also adorned in Greek today and is being released in a one-off Greek special edition. Enought to warm the heart of any eurosceptic.
Today’s BILD’s frontpage with Tsipras, in Greek, and a playing card layout. #sarcasm ? TRMT @iliassiak :
— spyros gkelis (@northaura) March 23, 2015
11.45
Is Tsipras making a tactical error by choosing to meet with only the big players in the Euro-Area? Won’t all have a veto over any new deal?
— Lorcan Roche Kelly (@LorcanRK) March 23, 2015
11.40 A timetable of a big events coming up for Greece over the next months:
#Greece faces decisive week as Euro outlaw Tsipras is set to meet #Euro sheriff Merkel. http://t.co/4tRjt49twT
— Holger Zschaepitz (@Schuldensuehner) March 23, 2015
11.30 A German government spokesman confirmed earlier today that Ms Merkel had received a letter from Mr Tsipras warning of “impossible” demands on his government.
The missive was also cc’ed to France and the ECB. The latter came in for some pretty tough criticism (see post at 08.50)
RT @DJMatthewDalton Re Tsipras letter sent to Merkel. I’m told the same letter was sent to Hollande and Draghi.
— Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) March 23, 2015
11.20 Syriza’s election in January raised the fears of many of its southern counterparts that anti-austerity parties could be on the rise.
But analysts at Berenberg think the current impasse between Athens and its creditors has dampened the threat of the likes of Podemos from taking hold in Spain.
#Eurozone : #Syriza ‘s disaster deflates Europe’s populist threat. http://t.co/d2sB6iem09
— Berenberg Economics (@Berenberg_Econ) March 23, 2015
Podemos, who were founded only a year ago, won their first every parliamentary seats at regional elections held this weekend.
11.00 What’s the main sticking point likely to be in today’s talks?
Well, among the topics of conversation is likely to be Greece’s very slow progress on implementing reforms they promised in return for a four-month bail-out extension.
Creditors are yet to see much action in the way of labour law reforms or moves towards privatising national assets in a bid to raise revenues.
So far, the Greek parliament has only moved to agree legislation on a raft of anti-poverty spending programmes designed to alleviate a “humanitarian crisis” in the country.
The flesh on the bones may have been little up until now, but that might all be changing in a few hours, say German media:
According to German media, Tsipras won’t a reform list to Berlin, but an entire book. A 50-pager, incl higher VAT and retirement at 67.
— Carsten Brzeski (@carstenbrzeski) March 23, 2015
10.50
#Germany Chancellor spokesman #Seibert says ‘don’t expect solutions from #Merkel – #Tsipras talks in #Berlin today
— Karl Stagno-Navarra (@ksnavarra) March 23, 2015
10.38 Apropos of “middle-finger” gate
– “I’m off to Berlin. Give me the thumbs up, Yanis!” – “Your thumb, Yanis!” via @Koufogiorgos #tsipras #varoufakis
— Damian Mac Con Uladh (@damomac) March 23, 2015
10.30
New guesstimate for when #Greece could run out of cash: 8 April when next chunk of #IMF repayment due
— katya adler (@BBCkatyaadler) March 23, 2015
10.25 In a further sign of its cash problems, Greece’s current account fell further into deficit over the beginning of the year.
The country’s external balance was €850m in the red in January, compared to €336m at the same point last year, and reverses the small surpluses it had registered at the end of 2014.
Perhaps more significantly, Greece’s primary budget surplus – the difference between what the government spends and gets back in revenues – disappeared at the beginning of the year too, and now stands at -€684m.
BoG releases Jan Balance of Payments, ELSTAT Jan Turnover Index in Industry. #Greece #economy
— MacroPolis (@MacroPolis_gr) March 23, 2015
10.20 The European Central Bank may not be playing ball with Athens, but the central bank has been forced to incrementally feed greater amounts of emergency liquidity to the country’s banks.
This is largely because they have suffered from ever increasing amounts of deposit flight, and ELA as it is known, is the only think that is keeping Greece in the euro right now.
The following from Deutsche Bank shows how much the funding has spiked in the last month. Should the bank hold a vote and gain a two-thirds majority to stop ELA, Greece would effectively be kicked out of the euro.
10.00 Even before today’s meeting has begun, it represents something of a victory for the Leftist government who have pushed for bail-out negotiations to be carried out at the highest level of European diplomacy – that is, between Europe’s leaders rather than its technocrats.
And that just might be good news for everyone involved, as the last time a Greek was in Germany to talk about debt relief, it looked a bit like this…
09.55 Writing to Greek daily Ekathimerin i ahead of his visit to Berlin today, PM Tsipras struck an optimistic tone, saying his chat with Ms Merkel “would not be pressurized by negotiations, and this is very significant because we can both discuss the important issues that are burdening Europe as well as improving bilateral relations between the two countries.”
He continued their chat was a: “unique opportunity to pursue changes which previous governments did not dare to attempt, either because they were committed to powerful interests or because they did not have popular support.”
That reference to the previous New Democracy coalition government hints at Mr Tsipras reluctance to abide by any of the promises made by his predecessors. He said as much at a Europan Council meeting last week:
* Greek PM tsipras says both us and Germany’s Merkel agreed to forget commitments of the previous Greek government – RTRS
— Fabrizio Goria (@FGoria) March 20, 2015
09.45 Given the cash pressures faced by its banks, the European Central Bank has been in the firing line of Athens’ ire in recent days.
Mr Tsipras, in the aforementioned letter to his counterpart , requested a reinstatement of the waiver on Greek bonds as collateral that was taken away by the ECB in February.
Greece’s finance minister on the other hand, has said the ECB is “asphyxiating” the country in its refusal to raise its T-bill cap, and its drip feeding of emergency assistance to the country.
Here’s a backgrounder on how the ECB could finally pull the plug on Greece.
09.35 Today’s meeting comes amid a fast deteriorating situation among Greece’s banks. Capital has been flowing out of lenders ever since Syriza came into office in January, and the recent breakdown in trust between the two sides, has given way to a further acceleration in the past few days.
Bloomberg: Net withdrawals on Friday were about €450m, on top of €1.1bn which had fled Greek banks in the previous three days
— MineForNothing (@minefornothing) March 23, 2015
09.25 Angela Merkel is low-balling her expectations for today’s talks:
“We will have time [on Monday], to talk at length with each other, and perhaps also to argue.”
09.20 Today’s Bild front page is not to be missed. it’s all Greek to me
Today’s BILD’s frontpage with Tsipras, in Greek, and a playing card layout. #sarcasm ? TRMT @iliassiak :
— spyros gkelis (@northaura) March 23, 2015
09.10 The ECB has thought about imposing an official ban on increasing the holdings of Greek sovereign debt that can be held by the country’s lenders.
Any move to cap the T-bill holdings would put a further squeeze on banks which have been suffering from accelerating deposit flight of nearly €2bn a week.
And in a bizaare turn of events, a Greek daily is now reporitng the government has been searching for possible new sources of investors for its bonds…in Iran.
#Greece | Daily @ta_nea reports a Tsipras envoy has traveled to Iran in search of investors for Greek T-bill issuances. /via @Hekimoglou
— Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) March 23, 2015
09.05 Here’s the repaymemt schedule that Athens is facing courtesy of Deutsche Bank.
So far, the country has managed to roll-over short term bonds maturing for March, but Mr Tsipras has warned the government will run out of money by the end of April without any release of funds.
The repayment reach another crunch point in July, by which point the agreed bail-out extension will have expired.
09.00 For all the cash flow issues, Greece has managed to make its obligations so far this month, including those to the EFSF, the eurozone’s rescue fund.
#EFSF / #ESM #Regling : in Feb 2015 #Greece made a scheduled interest payment of €474m to #EFSF
— ESM (@ESM_Press) March 23, 2015
#EFSF / #ESM #Regling : Athens can build on #Greece ’s important past achievements to bring #Greece back to economically sustainable path
— ESM (@ESM_Press) March 23, 2015
08.50 In anticipation of today’s meeting with Ms Merkel, Greece’s Alexis Tsipras wrote to the Chancellor earlier this month, warning his government faced “a small cash flow problem”, which would make it impossible for them to continue the functions of government while repaying back more than €1.5m in loans to the IMF in March.
The FT have got hold of the letter ; some excerpts:
“Given that Greece has no access to money markets, and also in view of the ‘spikes’ in our debt repayment obligations during the spring and summer . . . it ought to be clear that the ECB’s special restrictions when combined with disbursement delays would make it impossible for any government to service its debt.”
“With this letter, I am urging you not to allow a small cash flow issue, and a certain ‘institutional inertia’, to turn into a large problem for Greece and for Europe,” wrote Mr Tsipras.
Greece has been pleading for relief for its stricken banks from the European Central Bank. So far, Mr Draghi and co. have not been forthcoming.
08.45 Accidental or not, here’s what a Grexit would look like (probably – courtesy of Oxford Economics)
08.35 A rapid deterioration in trust between Greece and its creditors has raised the prospect of an “accidental” Greek exit from the euro becoming a possibility. It would be an accident as the country could well run of out money to make its loan obligations before a release of funds is agreed to by a provisional date of April.
Now prominent voices from across the Atlantic have joined in with the “Grexident” fears, with James Bullard – president of the St Louis Federal Reserve – telling CNBC that there remains a “possibility” Athens could be the first member to leave the euro.
Fed’s Bullard says Grexit possible ~ @CNBC #Greece
— Yannis Koutsomitis (@YanniKouts) March 23, 2015
A reminder that a majority of Greeks still want to stay in the eurozone, and the current government campaigned for continued membership of the single currency area.
Citizens in the largest debtor state are not so convinced however. A poll from YouGov last week found a majority of German’s now favour Grexit at 59pc.
08.30 Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of Alexis Tsipras’ meeting with Angela Merkel in Berlin.
The two premiers are due to meet later this afternoon as relations between the anti-austerity government and its largest creditor have reached a nadir over the last few weeks.
Mr Tsipras is reported to have written to Ms Merkel before today’s meeting, warning it would be impossible for Greece to make its debt repayments to creditors this week while continuing to pay out the wages and pensions in the country, the FT reports.