All media outlets continue to report on Sunday’s Greek referendum and are also focused on the meeting in Paris between French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, discussing the resumption of talks with Greece, and on Yanis Varoufakis’ resignation yesterday. The European press provides several reactions of European Commissioners.
After the ‘No’ vote in the Greek referendum, most EU countries are sticking to their guns and showing little willingness to make concessions, reports Le Figaro. Exasperation and despondency are running high in Brussels. The “hawks” are to the fore, while more “accommodating” figures like EcoFin Commissioner Moscovici are staying in the background. The Grexit scenario was on the agenda of the Euro Working Group for the first time yesterday. EC President Juncker will launch this crucial day with a speech expected to show strong determination, adds the French economic newspaper.
In a ZDF programme, Anne Gellinek reports as well on the different levels of willingness within the EU to make concessions towards Greece. Whilst France and Italy seem to be more yielding and open to compromise, Finland and the Netherlands have lost patience and appear rather unwilling to compromise. In general, public sentiment in the EU shows that the referendum does not change the negotiation process.
Kai Küstner notes in a NDR programme that the result of the Greek referendum has put the European Commission in a “very difficult position.” EC Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis stated in this context that the European Commission wants to continue to work with the Greek government, yet cannot act without the consent of the Eurogroup. According to VP Dombrovskis, it should be a “priority” for Greece to quickly implement reforms to achieve “financial stability and economic recovery”. VP Dombrovskis is further quoted in La Stampa, accusing the Greek government of not producing a “credible” economic strategy for growth.
EC Commissioner Hahn says, in an interview with ORF2, that he expects difficult negotiations between Greece and the creditors. The most important thing for Greece will now be to rebuild a foundation of trust and present a reasonable offer. The country will have to do a lot to re-establish an investment-friendly climate. However, he says that Greece should remain a member of the EU. Commissioner Oettinger says, in an interview with Bild Zeitung, that the Greek referendum was a “bizarre event,” stating that the question was “misleading” and certain statements against the creditors were “simply rude.” The referendum does not change the fact that Greece is facing bankruptcy, therefore without the will to implement reforms; new negotiations are “pointless,” he further stresses.
A tonne of – contradictory – comments is expressed about the European Commission’s attitude, the Greek vote and the Grexit. L’Opinion‘s Isabelle Marchais wonders if EC President Juncker will become the first one forced to deal with a member state leaving the euro area. Yesterday, VP Dombrovskis stated that “Greece belongs to Europe” but said nothing about its euro area membership, a “surprising ambiguity” according to Marchais. She considers that the victory of the ‘No’ is a slap in EC President Juncker’s face and that the European Commission now needs to address the risk of a humanitarian crisis and “preserve the single currency’s integrity.”
In an opinion piece for Le Figaro, Professor Gérard Grunberg considers that the Greek crisis is, among other things, due to “European institutions’ weak legitimacy in the eyes of European peoples in times of economic crisis and unemployment.” Only “institutional changes will allow Europeans to feel part of the same political community,” he adds.
The Daily Mail features an editorial arguing that Greece’s ‘No’ vote demonstrate the inherent fallacy of the single currency. Le Monde’s editorial notes that a Grexit is not forecast for Greeks who support remaining in the euro area. PM Tsipras considers the referendum’s outcome gives him more power to get better conditions from the Troika. Yet, the other 18 euro area countries have another analysis: they see it as a defiant gesture. The only decision to be made is political, adds the editorial.
Meanwhile, while Thomas Exner considers on Welt.de that one of Yanis Varoufakis’ most memorable achievements is having established anarchy at the highest policy level, a title of The Daily Telegraph says that the “sacrifice of Varoufakis will not help creditors.” Along the same lines, El Mundo says that the dramatic effect of Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis’ resignation will not suffice to hammer out a quick deal, and that Tsipras will have to hurriedly draw up his offer under duress from a tottering financial system amid capital controls.
Brussels waits for a new proposal by new Greek Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos, given that the last proposal of Athens was rejected. Officials sent the message yesterday that the proposal that could be accepted will be “harsher” than the one on the negotiation table before the departure of the Greek side and the announcement of the Greek referendum, reports Kathimerini. About Hollande-Merkel’s meeting, the French President said that the door was open and that he awaited credible proposals from the Greek government. “Time is pressing,” he stressed. The German Chancellor said that Europe has already showed great solidarity with Greece and she talked about “shared sovereignty” within the euro area, says TF1.
La Repubblica – among others – quotes as well both leaders, noting that Ms Merkel said that “the conditions do not exist, at present” for new negotiations on a “concrete programme of assistance”. Mr Hollande said it is now up to Alexis Tsipras to present “serious and credible” proposals. The INYT further reports that after Greece’s ‘No’ vote, German Chancellor Merkel now confronts greater pressure than ever to resolve those clashing sensibilities – a challenge that will test her leadership abilities and help determine Europe’s direction at a pivotal moment.
In an interview with Les Echos, Director of think tank Bruegel Guntram B. Wolff considers that the Franco-German duo needs to display unity to keep the whole euro area together. The main risk posed by a Grexit is political in the sense that it would be a “tremendous collective backlash” for the euro area. In an interview with Avvenire, Former EC President Romano Prodi criticises the two-way summit between France and Germany, over Greece. He also underlines that Germany cannot “shoulder the responsibility” for closing the door to Greece completely.
Attention of the European press is also focused on the ECB. In a behind-the-scenes report, Stefano Lepri notes in La Stampa that ECB President Mario Draghi resisted pressure from Germany to reduce the ELA funds for Greece’s banks, and confirmed the current ceiling of €89 billion. There was an adjustment of the haircut involving collateral, but this will have no impact in the immediate term. However, the “new and dramatic” events in the Greek crisis are placing the ECB leadership in an increasingly “delicate” position, Mr Lepri adds.
The ECB’s technical role – and political events – are becoming “interlinked” in “unexpected” ways. Many believe that, if the ECB does not help out Greece’s banks by raising the ELA ceiling, then the ESM could bail out the banks, with its first direct recapitalisation intervention, notes Il Sole 24 Ore. It is further reported in Star TV that EC President Juncker had a meeting with Chair of the S&D EP Group Gianni Pittella. According to responsible sources, they discussed a bridge-programme for Greece, because the signing of a new programme until 20 July will not be easy. The Greek TV adds that this bridge-programme is expected to be presented at the Eurogroup meeting today.
©europeanunion2015
