"To show a spirit of responsibility and sense of compromise." Nicolas Sarkozy has launched Thursday a solemn appeal to Europeans to save Greece. Whereas this morning in Berlin, the French president knows that he will deploy a wealth of imagination and persuasion to move Angela Merkel. While Athens, plunged into a financial and political crisis, is on the verge of bankruptcy, the Chancellor is considering a new excess wait. Faced with a sling in his majority, Merkel angers its European partners by raising the pressure: it insists on any new financial aid package Greek participation of private creditors to let them share the burden of German taxpayers.
Berlin's position, however, has eased somewhat in recent hours.The German government, which faces an end of inadmissibility of the European Central Bank (ECB), now would require a report in September of decision on an extension to Greece, initially expected at the European Council next week . Play for time when it is urgent to try to influence the debate: Berlin had already used this tactic in the first act of the Greek crisis, in May 2010, reluctant to put their hands in the pocket for Athens.
Participation binding
The Europeans have accepted half that request. The Commissioner of Economic Affairs, Olli Rehn, said that measures should ultimately be decided at the Eurogroup of 11 July. In the meantime, to ease the burden a little Athens, Europe could decide to release the funds promised for July."I am confident that next Sunday the finance ministers of the euro area will meet in Luxembourg will decide on the payment of the fifth tranche of loans to Greece," said Olli Rehn. This band represents just under 8 billion that would normally add 3.7 billion paid by the IMF. The fund has remained vague about his intentions, while suggesting a hint that it will participate in this effort absolutely free credit score. "We are ready to continue to support Greece if the Greek authorities take the economic measures promised," said his spokesman, in Washington.
Save time is to enable Europeans to reach a compromise on how to involve private creditors in aid to Greece. Paris insists that nothing be done that goes against the opinion of the ECB, which guarantees the stability of the euro.But in Berlin, the German government does not hide his irritation with respect to the ECB, which usually defends tooth and nail independence. The European monetary institution insists that the private creditors of Greece are known as a "voluntary basis" to grant a stay in a country where the rating agencies expect the bankruptcy. It is far from enough in the eyes of members of the center-right coalition of Merkel, where such participation must be mandatory. To ensure the support of the Bundestag increasingly looking to the funds of Germany, the federal government requests that all creditors are asked to exchange their shares against the Greek bonds at longer maturities.For the ECB, such an exchange would mean forced to recognize that Athens is in default.
Italy's Mario Draghi, who will fall over from Jean-Claude Trichet, head of the ECB, had his baptism of fire on Thursday night in Berlin, during a meeting with the Chancellor in which he was trying to find a solution to the dilemma German. For the Chancellor, it was however only a first round: she will spend three hours today with Nicolas Sarkozy to find a compromise.
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