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A tight leash even after the Memorandum

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The agreement struck between the troika and the government not only includes a lot of fine print concerning new measures but also prepares the ground for new government commitments even if no new Memorandum is signed.
Anyone (and there can’t be that many) who expected that with the second Memorandum programme drawing slowly to a close, Greece would soon emerge from under the tight scrutiny of the European Commission and the IMF are likely to be disappointed.This despite the relatively positive comments from the European Commissioner for Monetary affairs, Olli Rehn who in a change of tone gave his tacit approval to the use of a portion of the primary budget surplus achieved for 2013 for social spending.“Greece has delivered a significant primary surplus and as part of this agreement we have agreed that there will be a stepping up of efforts to…protect the vulnerable,” he was reported to have told reporters. However he made clear that the priority remains on consolidating the budget, while the Commission has yet to give its precise figure for the level of the primary surplus achieved. The Greek government claims that it is close to 3 billion euros.While the full text of the recent agreement struck between the government and the troika over the review of the adjustment program has not been released, it is clear that it will include a range of government commitments necessary for the disbursement of the next loan tranches, on a timeframe that extends well beyond 2014. (mer…)

Greece’s health crisis: from austerity to denialism

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An article by Alexander Kentikelenis, Marina Karanikolos, Aaron Reeves, Prof Martin McKee, David Stuckler, published in the wold famous general medical journal The Lancet.

Summary:

Greece’s economic crisis has deepened since it was bailed out by the international community in 2010. The country underwent the sixth consecutive year of economic contraction in 2013, with its economy shrinking by 20% between 2008 and 2012, and anaemic or no growth projected for 2014. Unemployment has more than tripled, from 7·7% in 2008 to 24·3% in 2012, and long-term unemployment reached 14·4%. We review the background to the crisis, assess how austerity measures have affected the health of the Greek population and their access to public health services, and examine the political response to the mounting evidence of a Greek public health tragedy.

Read the full text here

Debtocracy – a documentary

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Aris Chatzistefanou and Katerina Kitidi discuss with economists, journalists and intellectuals from all over the world, who describe the steps that led Greece to the current debt trap –to debtocracy. The documentary follows the course of countries like Ecuador, which created Audit Commissions, and tracks the similar process in Greece.

For the first time in Greece, a documentary produced by the audience. “Debtocracy” seeks the causes of the debt crisis and proposes solutions sidelined by the government and the dominant media. The documentary is distributed online under creative commons licence since April 6, 2011, subtitled in six languages.

Watch the documentary: