Germany Tells Greece: No More Concessions, No More Time

Andy Dabilis

ATHENS – New Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras’ plans to ask international lenders for more time to implement the austerity measures he supported and signed, but now is trying to back away from, ran into a snag when German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, whose country is footing much of the bill for two bailouts totaling $325 billion to prop up the Greek economy said Greece won’t get more time and should move quickly to enact reform measures. Schaeuble told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in unusually blunt language that many Europeans do not trust Greece, as shown in an opinion poll covering the Eurozone’s four biggest nations and published in the paper. That came before a Greek newspaper revealed that while Samaras is trying to persuade the Troika of the European Union-International Monetary Fund-European Central Bank (EU-IMF-ECB) which is putting up the bailouts to cancel demands that Greece fire 150,000 workers that in the last two years the government actually hired 70,000 people. That was in defiance of the conditions the Troika set, giving Samaras one more problem to deal with. He was set to meet with Troika inspectors this week in Athens but they delayed their visit as he was recovering from eye surgery.

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June 25, 2012