General Accounting Office

A translation of Zoe’s speech by the Socialistworker.org… Her stand against the tough austerity bailout voted through on Thursday has led to her facing the threat of being ousted.

The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) has reportedly sent Greece’s General Accounting Office a letter stating that it is within its rights to immediately demand repayment of the loans given to the country, as part of the second bailout package.

The decision was reportedly sent to the Greek side by EU Commissioner Pierre Moscovici.

Despite talk of the bitcoin, Greek banks have actually been preparing for a return to the drachma for years. Were a hypothetical Grexit to take place, the previously decommissioned currency would not be used but new banknotes based on the old design would most probably be printed.

Members of a special committee at the Finance Ministry?s General Accounting Office told the parliamentary inquiry into Germany?s unpaid reparations to Greece that Athens is owed between 280 and 340 billion euros by Berlin.

 The government has asked banks to waive the penalty on state entities that access their time deposits

By Roula Salourou & Sotiris Nikas

Germany owes Greece up to 278.7 billion euros in reparations for WWII, Alternate Minister for Finance Dimitris Mardas (photo) said on Monday.

According to calculations by the General Accounting Office, which has collected archival material examined by experts, some 10.3 billion of that sum corresponds to the forced loan taken by the Nazis, Mardas said.

 Prospects for 2015 become more bleak as the standoff between Greece and its creditors continues

By Dimitris Kontogiannis

By Sotiris Nikas

The general government primary budget surplus posted a remarkable drop in January compared to the same month last year, official figures confirmed on Wednesday, mainly due to the deficits reported by a number of social security funds, which lost more than 620 million eros in just one year.

Representatives of the government and the country?s international creditors are to start ?technical level? talks in Brussels on Wednesday following an agreement thrashed out in Brussels on Monday by eurozone finance ministers, though it remained unclear when, or if, foreign auditors would visit Athens for talks.

 Finance Ministry?s state revenues and spending projections point to likely gap of 1 bln euros by end-March

By Sotiris Nikas