European debt crisis

Varoufakis: Creative vagueness, VAT and taking a pee in Germany (videos)

Finance minister Yanis Varoufakis laid out his cards on the table in an interview with private Greek TV ANT1. Speaking to veteran presenter George Papadakis, he said that the government had committed itself to increasing VAT but assured that this would not threaten basic goods and services or harm islands that are privy to special tax laws.

Eurozone sources: 30 billion euro won’t be enough for Greece in the next biennium

German agency MNI, citing sources in the Eurozone, estimates that Greece will need a third aid package, since its financial needs will exceed the 30 billion euro in the following biennium.

According to the agency, within the next four months, there will be no talks on restructuring of Greek debt.

Varoufakis to Bloomberg: I hope ECB helps Greece avoid default in March

Greek FinMin Yanis Varoufakis raised eyebrows and generated his share of shivers on Wednesday when he said he's counting on the ECB to help Greece avoid default next month when it runs out of money, while at the same time playing up the positive by saying deposits are also starting to flow back to domestic banks.

ECB: 12 billion euros in deposit outflows from Greek banks in Jan.

The level of deposits in Greek banks dropped by 12.2 billion euros in January, leaving 155.5 billion euros in the vaults, according to the ECB.

 

This reduction is attributed to political uncertainty ahead of the Jan. 25 election and the subsequent clash between the new Athens government and its eurozone creditors.

 

Reuters: Strong Banking Ties to Greece Pose Risk for Bulgaria, Balkans

Balkan countries including Bulgaria "remain highly vulnerable to the threat of Greek financial collapse" due to their strong banking and trade links with Greece, Reuters said.

Even though Greece seems for now to have won a four-month extension of its bailout programme, the danger of a potential exit of the country from the euro still exists, the newswire said.

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