By
Jordan Shilton and Chris Marsden(wsws.org)
23 March 2013
Cyprus’ fate illustrates how the European Union imposes the
dictatorship of the global speculators, banks and corporations on the
working class. The EU yesterday continued to demand massive austerity in
Cyprus to raise €6 billion ($7.8 billion) in return for a €10 billion
bank bailout.
The island country has been the centre of an
escalating financial crisis, with its parliament voting Wednesday to
reject proposals to raise the necessary funds by taking money from
anyone with deposits in Cypriot banks.
A new vote on whether to impose a “haircut” on depositors was delayed
until today. The EU and European Central Bank (ECB) dismissed proposals
by Cypriot politicians—themselves wholly reactionary—to create a
“solidarity fund” to raise the six billion demanded.
Homemade bombs have exploded at the homes of five journalists from
major media outlets in Athens. Police are linking the attacks to the
current economic crisis in the country and the way the mainstream media
have reported it.
The devices, made of gas canisters, exploded outside residences in
different areas of Athens. The explosions caused minor damage to the
buildings’ entrances, but no one was injured.
Greek retailers registered the lowest Christmas
sales for the past 10 years, down by 40% from 2011, according to
preliminary estimations.
According to reports of the National Confederation of Hellenic
Commerce, as cited by the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), Christmas
sales of clothes and footwear fell by 50% from 2011, sales of electric
appliances decerased by 40%, and sales of cosmetics and books declined
by 30%.
Even sales of food products prior to the 2012 Christmas holidays dropped by 20% as compared to 2011.
By Dimitris Kontogiannis
The Greek government has invested a lot in the long-awaited bailout
tranches to cope with the developing credit crunch and bring the economy
to the stabilization phase late next year. However, a closer look at
the figures indicates the positive impact may be less than hoped for,
and therefore the risk of disappointment on the back of fostering high
expectations should not be ignored or underestimated.
The two largest banks in crisis-stricken Greece need a total of €13bn
($17.2bn) to recapitalize, as they took huge losses in the country’s
debt restructuring.
Greece’s second largest bank by assets, Eurobank, needs €5.8bn, with
the fourth largest lender Piraeus Bank being short of €7.3bn, according
to the Wall Street Journal. In the first 9 months of the year the two
banks reported combined losses of €1.7bn, with a huge part of that due
the banks’ participation in the country’s debt restructuring programme.
The
four biggest banks in Greece were left technically insolvent, after
they joined the €200bn debt restructuring programme. It left them
dependent on extremely expensive loans from euro zone member states and
the International Monetary Fund.
By Tom Ellis & Achilleas Patsoukas
Geece’s debt crisis has captured international headlines over the past
couple of years. Virtually all analysts have focused on Greece’s deficit
and mammoth debt, which pose a threat to the entire European economy.
