International Monetary Fund

By Alan Fisher in Europe on June 15th, 2011
Photo by Reuters

Thousands went on strike. Thousands came to protest. This was the Greek people telling their government: enough!

 

When we arrived early in the morning, the atmosphere seemed calm, although there was an underlying air of menace as people approached us and told us to leave. The suggested destinations ranged from a nearby hotel to my native Scotland. Polite but insistent – it was clear some people did not want cameras there – a suggestion things were not going to pass off quietly.

By Kamahl Santamaria in Business on April 7th, 2011
Photo by EPA

I feel cheated. Big time. And by the leader of a Western European nation no less!

A few months ago, Jose Socrates, the prime minister of Portugal, was in Doha and made an appearance on Al Jazeera's business programme Counting the Cost, which is fronted by yours truly.

Obviously I wanted to talk about Portugal's precarious debt situation, and all the talk from markets and analysts that the country's visit to the EU and IMF for a financial bailout was a foregone conclusion.

There's a link to that specific programme and interview here.

Watch it, if you've got 10-15 minutes spare, and tell me if you think Mr Socrates was being genuine when he told me "we don't need any kind of help but confidence". And when he assured me that a financial bailout wouldn't be necessary.

Because two weeks ago he was forced out as prime minister.

By Barnaby Phillips in Europe on November 29th, 2010
Photo by EPA

The IMF and European Central Bank were giving their verdict on the Greek economy, and the press conference was packed.  

A colleague from the local media put up her hand, and started to ask her question, in Greek.  

The IMF official looked at her blankly; "please, speak in English," he interrupted.  

My colleague replied, in Greek: "We are in Greece, so I will speak Greek".

"I'm sorry, we can't understand you," said the IMF official, and asked for another question. 

She protested, and a murmur of discontent rumbled round the room, but the press confer

By Abid Ali in Business on November 25th, 2010
Photo by EPA

Would you give money to someone in debt?

Tough question I guess. You would ask yourself what is the possibility of them paying you back.

How would you feel if the money you give was guaranteed?

I think you would step up.

Now here’s the problem. Bond holders to the troubled economies of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain have been offered unwritten guarantees. They have been banking on Germany stepping in to help bailout Europe’s laggards.

The lady who triggered the latest crisis that has Ireland taking its begging bowl to the European Union and International Monetary Fund is at it again. And she’s right.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said:

Have politicians got the courage to make those who earn money share in the risk as well? Or is dealing in government debt the only business in the world economy that involves no risk?

By Barnaby Phillips in Europe, Business on June 20th, 2010
Photo by GALLO/GETTY

Has the media exacerbated the eurozone crisis?

Sitting in Athens, that is a question I've asked myself many times in recent months.

Certainly, there are people close to George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, who complain bitterly about the reporting of Greece's economic woes by what they call "the Anglo-Saxon press" (which, in a pantheon of villains, is apparently right up there with greedy speculators and unscrupulous hedge-fund managers).

Their argument goes as follows: parts of the British press have always distrusted the euro and have repeatedly predicted the failure of the single currency. The eurosceptics have waited for this moment, and now they smell blood.

By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on April 25th, 2010

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By Barnaby Phillips in Europe on April 22nd, 2010
AFP photo

It's another general strike in Athens today; we're expecting a big march in the city centre by trade unions. Schools and government offices will be closed, and hospitals will only deal with emergencies.

The entrances to some of the luxury hotels and department stores just over the street from the Al Jazeera office have been blocked by striking workers for the past two days.

The centre-right Kathimerini newspaper is furious, saying this "is taking protest too far", tarnishing Greece's image in the eyes of foreign visitors.

"What do these people want? Are they trying to push Greece into the abyss, to send us back into the Dark Ages?" it asks.

But, as the editorial staff at Kathimerini well know, Greece's image has taken quite a pounding already, and the country is now internationally synonymous with financial mismanagement, corruption and profligacy.

By Alan Fisher in Europe on March 25th, 2010
photo from AFP
After weeks of will they/wont they, they finally did.  The 16 Eurozone countries have agreed a deal to help Greece out of it's financial black hole.  But as Angela Merkel, the German chancellor has constantly reminded us, it is a tool only to be used as a 'last resort'.
 
The Germans wanted the involvement of the International Monetary Fund.  The French weren't terribly keen but realising there would only be a deal on the terms dictated by Europe's strongest and largest economy, they put aside their objections.
 
So now the Greeks can approach the world's financial markets to refinance their massive 700 billion dollar debt and if the interest rates quoted are too high they have a plan B.
 
By Abid Ali in Business on February 15th, 2010
Photo from AFP
Discipline in any team is important. Players pulling in opposite directions can destroy unity – we expect everyone to behave with some moral fiber.  That’s why John Terry lost his England job. But what do you do with a country like Greece that actually lied about its debt problems?
 
 
So what should Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy do? Should they bailout Greece or kick it out of the union? Gordon Brown has been pretty clear: if Greece needs financial help then it should go cap in hand in the International Monetary Fund. But it’s easy for Brown to make such comments his nation is not part of the euro zone.
 
By Barnaby Phillips in Europe on February 10th, 2010
Photo by EPA
A day of protests on the streets of Athens.
 
Nothing particularly unusual about that, you might think, and in four years living in the Greek capital, I’ve certainly seen my fair share of strikes and demonstrations.

But, this time it's different. All of Europe is watching Greece, and waiting to see whether the government can bring this economic crisis under control.

Even with wage cuts, higher taxes and pension reform, it may now be too late to avert some sort of a bailout for Greece.

There's a growing sense that this country will not be able to pay off its debts without help from outside.

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