9-Feb-2012 - Greece Puts Off Talks a Day as Workers Strike

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The government, though, failed to reach an agreement with the creditors Tuesday on the specifics of the austerity measures, and had to postpone an evening meeting of top political leaders that was meant to approve them. Further negotiations were set for Wednesday. The government’s parallel talks with its foreign lenders — the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, known as the troika — on the terms of a new loan package were set back as well, because they depend on the outcome of the talks with the creditors. Pressure is building on the country to reach agreements with both the creditors and the troika as soon as possible. Even so, some European Union officials in Brussels seemed to be bracing for the possibility of failure. Neelie Kroes, a member of the European NHL jerseys supply Commission, told the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant that the euro currency could survive having Greece default and drop out of the monetary union. “It’s being  said that if you allow one country to exit,  or ask it to exit, then the whole structure  collapses,” Ms. Kroes told the newspaper. “But that just isn’t true.” Ms. Kroes was critical of Greece’s efforts to deal with the crisis, saying that the troika representatives were “back in  Greece again, reporting for the umpteenth time that Greece is not living up  to its promises: too few savings, too few  reforms.” She added, “It’s becoming a  Greek mantra: ‘We cannot. We  won’t!’ ” José Manuel Barroso, the president of  the European Commission, quickly distanced himself from those  comments. “The European Commission has  made it clear from the beginning that it  is very important, not only for Greece  but the euro and for the European project, to keep Greece in the euro,” he said.  “For that, we are urging the political  parties in Greece to make a commitment to the common goals.” With several deadlines now missed,  European officials were hoping that a repeatedly postponed meeting of finance ministers to discuss the latest bailout could still take place before the weekend. The Greek government has said it wants the parliament in Athens to approve a package by Monday. Approval is not certain even if the major party leaders in the coalition government all back a deal, because of the deep unpopularity of austerity measures among rank and file lawmakers. A more significant deadline looms on March 20, when 14.5 billion euros (19 billion) must be repaid to bondholders to avoid a default. The austerity measures are expected to include cuts of around 20 percent in private-sector wages, reductions in supplemental pensions, layoffs of tens of thousands of government workers and additional cuts to state spending. The measures would follow two years of tax increases and wage cuts in the state sector that have pushed the country into a deep recession. The unemployment rate is 19 percent and rising, while the economy is expected to contract by 6 percent, according to estimates by the I.M.F. Greek union leaders condemned the proposed measures and said the country was the victim of extortion. “It is a brutal, cynical blackmail against an entire nation,” said Yiannis Panagopoulos, the head of a private-sector union. The general strike on Tuesday was the second this year. Airports operated normally but other transportation services were disrupted, including trains nfl headset and ferries.  Transit workers ran a limited service in Athens to allow protesters to join rallies in the city center. The police said about 10,000 people marched peacefully to Parliament. There was also a separate demonstration by about 10,000 Communist unionists. No arrests or injuries were reported. The walkout also closed government offices, schools and courts and left hospitals operating on emergency staff. Many shopkeepers, exasperated at the impact of higher taxes and reduced consumer spending, also closed down for the day.

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