On Greek "Independence Day", Creditors Prepare To Seal Athens' Fate
With The ECB banning Greek banks from continuing the GGB-buying ponzi scheme, the banking system in deposit outflow panic, cash running extremely dry, food shortages building, and bond/loan payments looming, Greek celebrations of Independence Day today are likely tempered by European officials coin-tossing over the nation's future (in or out of the EU). 196 years after winning their sovereignty from The Ottoman Empire, one wonders if The Greeks have the ability to fight their sovereignty back from "The Institutions."
As Bloomberg reports, while inspectors are gauging the case for continuing financial support for Europe’s most-indebted nation, many Athenians will be watching a parade of battle tanks and fighter jets to mark the beginning in 1821 of the war that won independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Greeks celebrate their independence Wednesday with a military parade and a folk-music festival sponsored by the Ministry of Defense, as European officials more than 1,000 miles away review the financial aid that will shape their future.Euro-area finance ministry officials will have a discussion on the progress of the country’s economic policy program. Without access to capital markets, or the ECB’s normal financing operations, Greek banks rely on almost 70 billion euros ($76 billion) of ELA to cover a financing shortfall exacerbated by steep deposit withdrawals... which The ECB just upped to EUR71bn....The government of George Papandreou scaled down military parades to cut costs after the Greek debt crisis erupted in 2010. Fighter jets made a comeback to the skies of Athens last year at a cost of about 500,000 euros, according to a defense ministry official from the previous administration.With government cash supplies running out and negotiations on financial aid only inching forwards, European officials have said that Greece could default on its obligations within weeks unless there’s a breakthrough.The government has to pay about 1.5 billion euros of salaries and pensions by the end of March and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is at loggerheads with its creditors over the conditions attached to its emergency loans.Revenue from taxes also missed budget targets by about 1 billion euros in the first two months of the year, the country’s Ministry of Finance said Tuesday, further depleting cash buffers.
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As Keep Talking Greece reports, for the first time since 2011, Greeks celebrate Independence Day and enjoy the school students and military parades without barriers. The new Greek government decision to remove barriers and allow people to attend the parades at close range has a strong symbolism aiming to demonstrate that neither the government is afraid of protests nor the people feel the need to protest austerity.Crowds were banned from coming close to parades and dignitaries, after angry anti-government and anti-austerity protesters had booed the President of the Republic Karolos Papoulias in Thessaloniki during the National Day parade in October 28th 2011.After the parade, the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and other dignitaries mingled with the people and showed that they were not afraid of the citizens, of angry crowds and anti-government demonstrators.Police were there in “discrete presence” but certainly no riot police squads around.
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Things appear to be gettng desperate as it is becoming increasingly clear there is very little cash in the Greek Banking system... ECB funding lines in February Here’s a timeline showing how the cap has gradually increased since Feb 5th when it was set at ~EU60b:
- Feb 5 Set at EU59.5b
- Feb 12 Raised to EU65b
- Feb 18 Raised to EU68.3b
- Mar 5 Raised to EU68.8b
- Mar 12 Raised by EU600m
- Mar 18 Raised by EU400m
- Mar 25 Raised to just over EU71b
All of which will be "Bailed In" courtesy of whatever depositors (and bondholders) are left after this ends and Th ECB grabs its cash back...
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Perhaps, in the future, The Greeks will mourn "In Dependence" Day as opposed to celebrating "Independence" Day...
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