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JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

EU holds Greece crisis talks on eve of G20 meet

World Nov. 03, 2011 - 07:15AM JST ( 12 )

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Nicolas Sarkozy (C) and Alain Juppe (L) wait for the German Chancellor to arrive

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12 Comments

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Elbuda MexicanoNov. 03, 2011 - 07:52AM JST

I think it is just better for the EU to give up and say look we are too stupid to run our part of the world, so lets the good, hard working Chinese just take over Europe, allow them to freely copy anything that was cool like Gucci, Ferrari, Mercdez Benz, Airbus but let the EU take half of all the profits but let the Chinese make good copies of all the cool European stuff. If you can not win them, join them??
0

Antonios_MNov. 03, 2011 - 08:31AM JST

Papandreou's days are numbered. Apparently, he committed political suicide with this Kamikaze move that surprised everyone. Like my friend in Piraeus said "This guy is either too smart and tries to be a hero, or too idiot and he will throw the whole country in abyss and catastrophe". In my view, it is the second. His decision for the referendum might not have been pointless 1,5 years ago before the country consult the IMF for the rescue plan, but right now it is extremely dangerous, not only for Greece but also for the entire Eurozone.
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globalwatcherNov. 03, 2011 - 09:56AM JST

I think it is just better for the EU to give up and say look we are too stupid to run our part of the world, so lets the good, hard working Chinese just take over Europe,

US Sen. Shelby is expressing his concern that Chinese takes over Europe. It is a security issue for NATO.
0

Michael J. MorrisNov. 03, 2011 - 11:38AM JST

What happens is Greece defaults? What are the implications for Japan? Is this the beginning of another Great Depression? The US cannot help out due to their financial situation. Japan has nothing to give. All Eurozone countries are up to their eyes in debt. It will be interesting to see what China does.
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globalwatcherNov. 03, 2011 - 01:55PM JST

Is this the beginning of another Great Depression?

Currently, US has estimated 640 billion dollars exposures to Euro. I do not know about Japan.
-2

WilliBNov. 03, 2011 - 02:06PM JST

Michael JMorris:

When Greece defaults, the lender banks will take a huge hit. But that is unavoidable, anway. The longer Germany, France et all try to solve this problem by pumping more money into Greece (borrowed or leveraged money, mind you -- the eventual bill the German and French tax payers will be astronomical), the worse the outcome is.

If this is the beginning of just a limited financial crisis or the start of a true Great Depression depends on how long the Euro politicians will try keep this idiotic Euro scheme alive.
-1

lostrune2Nov. 03, 2011 - 04:57PM JST

The EU and Greece should just part ways now and end the charade.
0

gonemadNov. 03, 2011 - 08:02PM JST

What happens is Greece defaults?

For the Greek themselves, it will be a desaster. For the rest of the world, including European nations, it will be small economic hiccup. Greece is not important enough and a default is nothing terrible at all. The only reason why this makes so many headlines is the fear that a Greek default would only be the start of a chain reaction. That danger should be banned since the European nations agreed on the stability fund. So calm down and let the Greek have their referendum.

Antonios, do you really believe that Papandreou would have had a chance to propose the referendum during negotiations? I don't believe so. Sure, it may cost him his political life, but I think it is the only way to get a stable government in Greece, which is able to implement the austerity measures.
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WilliBNov. 03, 2011 - 11:23PM JST

gonemad:

" For the Greek themselves, it will be a desaster. "

No, it will not!! Getting out from under the boots of Merkel and Sarkozy and giving the country back its self-determination and its own money is not a disaster by any definition.

The only "disaster" is for the debtors who have to take their haircut... but they deserve it.

On a side note, isn´t it amazing to see how the EU reactso to prospect of a popular referendum in Greece? Like Dracula to a silver cross. And these are the people who bomb other countries in order to promote "democracy". Now, but could be more democratic than a referendum?
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gonemadNov. 04, 2011 - 12:23AM JST

No, it will not!! Getting out from under the boots of Merkel and Sarkozy and giving the country back its self-determination and its own money is not a disaster by any definition.

What use is that money if they can't buy anything with it? What benefit should the own currency bring them? What Greece has to do in order to solve the debt crisis is to adjust the salaries to the (low) productivity. Whether it is done directly by reducing the amount paid in Euro or indirectly through the devaluation of the Drachma, the result is the same. What other benefit do you expect from a new currency?

The only "disaster" is for the debtors who have to take their haircut... but they deserve it.

Yes, they would deserve it. But practically, they will be bailed out by their respective governments.

On a side note, isn´t it amazing to see how the EU reactso to prospect of a popular referendum in Greece? Like Dracula to a silver cross. And these are the people who bomb other countries in order to promote "democracy". Now, but could be more democratic than a referendum?

It's rare, but once in a while we can agree on something...
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Antonios_MNov. 04, 2011 - 06:37AM JST

Antonios, do you really believe that Papandreou would have had a chance to propose the referendum during negotiations? I don't believe so. Sure, it may cost him his political life, but I think it is the only way to get a stable government in Greece, which is able to implement the austerity measures.

Well, he already took back the decision for referendum. The pressure he received from Merkel and Sarkozy was enough to make him change his mind. Now it just remains to be seen if he will still be the Prime Minister of Greece until tomorrow.
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WilliBNov. 05, 2011 - 12:48AM JST

gonemad:

" What use is that money if they can't buy anything with it? What benefit should the own currency bring them? What Greece has to do in order to solve the debt crisis is to adjust the salaries to the (low) productivity. Whether it is done directly by reducing the amount paid in Euro or indirectly through the devaluation of the Drachma, the result is the same. What other benefit do you expect from a new currency? "

Are you kidding? Greece`s problem is fundamentally that it is saddled with a too expensive currency, over which it has no control. With the Drachma, the Greek government could never go bankrupt, it could print itself out of trouble. Of course the Drachma would devaluate rapidly, which would immediately make Greek products (agricultural and tourism) hugely attractive. Tourists would go to Greece in droves again and create income.

Of course there would have to be a haircut on government debts, but that is coming anyway. Germany can not foot the bill forever. Or Greece could convert them to Drachma (I understand their laws actually permit that).

All this is really economics 101. Euro-critical economists like Milton Friedman have explained exactly all this already at the start of the Euro experiment. All they said then is happening now.