What are these clowns thinking?
Not to forget…
And if those €338 Billion are not paid back German taxpayers are on the hook!
And now…
– Greece Defaults; Krugman Screams It’s 1937; Maastricht Treaty Needs Revisions; “European Monetary Fund” Created; German Taxpayers on the Hook (Global Economic Analysis, July 21, 2011):
The EU summit hammered out yet another temporary fix today, albeit a complicated one.
The proposal involves the creation of a “European Monetary Fund” and it will require changes to the Maastricht Treaty. Paul Krugman does not like the austerity measures and ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet had to eat his words regarding defaults and acceptance of defaulted bonds as collateral. German taxpayers may potentially be screwed big time on this bailout.
Can this agreement hold together? Before deciding let’s look at some details.
“European Monetary Fund” Created
In what French President Nicolas Sarkozy likens to a “European Monetary Fund”, EU Leaders Offer $229 Billion in New Greek Aid
After eight hours of talks in Brussels, leaders announced 159 billion euro ($229 billion) in new aid for Greece late yesterday and cajoled bondholders into footing part of the bill. They also empowered their 440-billion euro rescue fund to buy debt across stressed euro nations after a market rout last week sparked concern the crisis was spreading. The fund can also aid troubled banks and offer credit-lines to repel speculators.