Obama urges debt relief for Greece

[webfact]

Obama urges debt relief for Greece

 

 

ATHENS: -- US President Barack Obama visiting Athens on Tuesday has backed Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’ call for a restructuring of Greek debt.

 

In a friendly meeting the two leaders also discussed the refugee crisis, Turkey, and prospects for resolving problems in Cyprus.

 

Tsipras praises #Obama on healthcare, civil rights and tackling unemployment.
 

On the issue of Greek debt, Alexis Tsipras said that after seven years the Greek economy and Greek society could not bear any more austerity.

 

In his turn Barak Obama said: “As Greece continues its reforms, the IMF has said that debt relief is crucial, I will continue to urge creditors to take the steps needed to put Greece on a path towards a durable economic recovery, because it is in all of our interests that Greece succeeds.”

 

The US and the International Monetary Fund have long argued for Greek debt to be restructured This call has, however, met with resistance from within the European Union, particularly Germany, whose banks would bear the brunt of the risk.

 

President Obama also used the occasion to underline the continuing importance to the US of its global partnerships, particularly within NATO. This will have been reassuring for European countries, which have been concerned by Donald Trump’s seemingly isolationist stance.

 

However, commentators have been quick to question the influence of the outgoing US President, noting that he is no longer able to make commitments on behalf of his country without first consulting his successor. It is not yet clear whether Donald Trump will accept any suggestions made to him.

 

Euronews correspondent Stamatis Giannisis concluded: “Had Hillary Clinton won last week’s presidential election, Barack Obama’s visit to Athens could have served well as a political bridge between the next US administration and the left wing Greek government. But with Donald Trump as the next resident of the White House, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will need to seek other channels of communication with Washington DC for a host of matters, including the reduction of the Greek debt.”

 

 

-- © Copyright Euronews 2016-11-16

[webfact]

Obama: World leaders must heed people's economic fears

By ELENA BECATOROS and JOSH LEDERMAN

 

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Drawing a broad lesson from the election of Donald Trump, President Barack Obama said Tuesday that world leaders need to pay attention to people's very real fears of economic dislocation and inequality in the midst of globalization.

 

"The more aggressively and effectively we deal with those issues, the less those fears may channel themselves into counterproductive approaches that can pit people against each other," Obama said as he opened the last foreign tour of his presidency.

 

Obama, in a joint news conference with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, said that both Trump's election and the British vote to leave the European Union reflected the need to deal with "people's fears that their children won't do as well as they have."

 

"Sometimes people just feel as if we want to try something and see if we can shake things up," Obama said.

 

The president seemed skeptical that "the new prescriptions being offered" would satisfy the frustrations and anger evident in election. And he played a bit of defense, saying that his agenda over past eight years had dealt with economic issues head on and "the country's indisputably better off."

 

Obama added pointedly that some of the rhetoric seen in the elections was "pretty troubling and not necessarily connected to the facts."

 

Tsipras, for his part, said he had refrained from rushing to criticizing Trump as some other European leaders had done, saying that the Republican's "aggressive manner" as a candidate might be different as president. He predicted that "in the near future not much is going to change in the relations between the EU, Greece and the United States of America."

 

Tsipras added that it was one thing to criticize Trump during the campaign and another thing now Trump will be a "major player" in the world.

 

Obama's visit sparked large protests in central Athens, prompting Greek riot police to use tear gas and stun grenades to disperse about 3,000 left-wing marchers after they tried to enter an area declared off-limits to demonstrators. No injuries or arrests were reported.

 

The violence broke out as youths in motorcycle helmets and gas masks, armed with wooden clubs and petrol bombs, tried to break a police cordon. Rioters retired to the Athens Polytechnic university complex in the city center, site of a 1973 student uprising, and engaged in running street fights with police.

 

The last sitting president to visit Greece was Bill Clinton in 1999. His visit, during the height of U.S. intervention in the wars ensuing from the breakup of Yugoslavia, was marked with extensive violent demonstrations.

 

Well removed from Tuesday night's violence, Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos played host at an evening dinner for Obama at the presidential mansion. In brief remarks, Obama quoted Pericles and offered a toast: "To the virtues and values that unite us across a broad sea, may the Greeks and Americans always be there for each other, as partners, as compatriots, brothers, sisters — stin ygeia sas, cheers."

 

The president earlier offered the Greeks reassuring words about the U.S. commitment to NATO, saying Democratic and Republican administrations alike recognize the importance of the alliance to the trans-Atlantic relationship.

 

Obama told Pavlopoulos at a morning meeting that a strong NATO is of "utmost importance" and would provide "significant continuity even as we see a transition in government in the United States."

 

Pavlopoulos, for his part, thanked Obama for U.S. support of the Greek people in a time of social and economic crisis, and said he was confident that Trump "will continue on the same path."

 

Trump's election has generated significant unease in Europe because of his tough talk during the campaign suggesting the U.S. might pull out of the NATO alliance if other countries don't pay more.

 

Obama's reassurances reflect an attempt to ease the deep concerns about Trump and the future of America's treaty alliances. Yet they may be greeted with skepticism: For months throughout the campaign, Obama repeatedly assured world leaders in public and private that Trump would not be elected, only to see him emerge victorious from last week's election.

 

In his meeting with Tsipras, Obama offered a welcome message of support for the Greeks as they struggle with both economic woes and a huge influx of refugees. Obama pledged to keep pressing his view that "austerity alone cannot deliver prosperity and that it is going to be important both with respect to debt relief and other accommodative strategies to help the Greek people in this period of adjustment."

 

On Wednesday, he is scheduled to tour the Acropolis and give a major speech about democracy and globalization before flying on to Berlin. From Germany, Obama will travel to Peru for an Asian economic summit before returning to Washington on Saturday.

 

Obama said he was looking forward to visiting the Acropolis because "if you come to Greece you've got to do a little bit of sightseeing."

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-11-16

[smedly]

firstly what has it got to do with him - mind your own business

 

As for Greece - the best thing they could do is get out of the single currency - it might work for Germany France and a few others to a point but for sure does not work for Greece, Greece needs to have another referendum and this time it is to either stay in the EU or leave 

Edited November 16, 2016 by smedly

[phantomfiddler]

Always good at giving away other people,s money, but at least he,s lost that bullet proof smirk ! The greeks have received enough help already, and should be made to fend for themselves like adults, not living way beyond their means.

[nontabury]

They E.U's will soon have to find replacement money,to support the Greeks, now that the British have voted to leave. 

[johna]

GREECE IN FLAMES: Riots in the streets of Athens over Obama's visit

[little mary sunshine]

Bye Barack.....Not another dime from The U.S. !!

[Sydebolle]

Obama can deviate some of those USD 600 billions in the defense budget to fix the Greek hole. What is it the US' concern in general and Obama's concern in particular to start with. Clean up Detroit, get those 48 million XYZ-Americans off the food stamps and then he can come back; yet as he did not manage that in almost eight years he might have just run out of time 

[mania]

That is the glaring difference

 

Obama would urge debt relief for Greece

Trump would urge debt relief for America

 

too bad the Greeks didn't throw shoes 

[mania]

2 hours ago, johna said:

GREECE IN FLAMES: Riots in the streets of Athens over Obama's visit

 

Classic.....where Obama or Hillary go there you find riots

[JHolmesJr]

whats the deal with barry going on tours and writing cheques he cant cash?

 

 

[williamgeorgeallen]

IMF wants some one to give Greece some money to pay the IMF back the money the IMF should not have lent them to start with.

[Gary A]

Obama doesn't seem to understand that Greece is not the same as the US, Obama can keep the presses running full time printing funny money. Greece cannot do that. Apparently paying your bills with funny money works for the socialists. The US cannot even balance the budget let alone pay anything on the astronomical national debt.

[bassman]

1 hour ago, JHolmesJr said:

whats the deal with barry going on tours and writing cheques he cant cash?

 

 

 

Obama is totally lame and a duck.

 

Guess hope and change, plus globalization did not work out so well.  Don't know why he chose Greece to prove these points, maybe he is an idiot also.

 

Congressional leaders told him yesterday not to make any more stupid deals in the next two months.

[flagrantviolation]

2 hours ago, mania said:

That is the glaring difference

 

Obama would urge debt relief for Greece

Trump would urge debt relief for America

 

too bad the Greeks didn't throw shoes 

Trump would urge debt relief for America?  Is that why he's pushing for big tax cuts and big increases in spending?  I don't understand.

[elgordo38]

Throwing good money after bad. Break up the EU and let individual countries sink or swim on their own. Even Frankenstein was wrong. The German piggy bank is running dry Angela has got her bags packed and is heading for the exit. Soon like after the civil war the Carpetbagger Banks will descend on you and pick you clean. They will marshal your money give it away free to some and digitize the rest. The will Houdini your money away. Modi has already started the ball rolling to control money. Politicians are growing bolder and growing a pair of brass ones emboldened to push you to the limit. Now the question begs just how far will you let them push you??

[flagrantviolation]

3 minutes ago, elgordo38 said:

Throwing good money after bad. Break up the EU and let individual countries sink or swim on their own. Even Frankenstein was wrong. The German piggy bank is running dry Angela has got her bags packed and is heading for the exit. Soon like after the civil war the Carpetbagger Banks will descend on you and pick you clean. They will marshal your money give it away free to some and digitize the rest. The will Houdini your money away. Modi has already started the ball rolling to control money. Politicians are growing bolder and growing a pair of brass ones emboldened to push you to the limit. Now the question begs just how far will you let them push you??

The problem is not the EU but the Euro.  It should never have been created. Helps Germany with its exports by keeping its currency artificially low in relation to the German economy, hurts countries like Spain and Italy by keeping the currency artificially high in relation to their economies.

[RaggaTwin]

I've really no sympathy for the Greeks and Tsipras has the gall to state that they can't bear any more austerity. One word, tough. 

[flagrantviolation]

2 minutes ago, RaggaTwin said:

I've really no sympathy for the Greeks and Tsipras has the gall to state that they can't bear any more austerity. One word, tough. 

You really believe that Greece was bailed out? No, it was the banks that foolishly lent to Greece that were bailed out. Greece should have been allowed to leave the Eurozone and Germany and France should have indemnified their banks if they thought that was crucial. Greece can never repay the amount that it owes. The  debt will keep on increasing and increasing. Sooner or later that kind of thing leads to violent revolution.

[elgordo38]

5 minutes ago, flagrantviolation said:

The problem is not the EU but the Euro.  It should never have been created. Helps Germany with its exports by keeping its currency artificially low in relation to the German economy, hurts countries like Spain and Italy by keeping the currency artificially high in relation to their economies.

Thanks I alway like to read good comments like yours enlightening. You make a good point. 

[seedy]

Troll post Removed

[Baerboxer]

7 hours ago, smedly said:

firstly what has it got to do with him - mind your own business

 

As for Greece - the best thing they could do is get out of the single currency - it might work for Germany France and a few others to a point but for sure does not work for Greece, Greece needs to have another referendum and this time it is to either stay in the EU or leave 

 

Greece was living the proverbial life of Riley for years and years. Paying themselves good salaries, retiring much sooner than others on generous pensions and all whilst remaining inefficient, ineffective and not very productive. All funded by the generous EU! When that all went pop then the required austerity has gone down like a cup of cold vomit. 

 

Greece was enjoying the free loading and now simply can't pay the debts it ran up and realistically is a bankrupt country. So dopey Obama wants to let them off - very nice of him especially as it isn't his money. 

 

Greece can't afford to leave the EU. The collapse that would provoke would be even worse than the austerity. They will adopt the "Wallonia Strategy" and start blocking things and being awkward to get their handouts. Breaking away would require courage and a commitment to some years of real hard work. Not likely to happen. Laziness and entitlement now too ingrained.

[RaggaTwin]

1 hour ago, flagrantviolation said:

You really believe that Greece was bailed out? No, it was the banks that foolishly lent to Greece that were bailed out. Greece should have been allowed to leave the Eurozone and Germany and France should have indemnified their banks if they thought that was crucial. Greece can never repay the amount that it owes. The  debt will keep on increasing and increasing. Sooner or later that kind of thing leads to violent revolution.

 

You certainly read something in to my post that wasn't there.  Where did I intimate that I believe Greece was bailed out?  And, who cares?  They've taken the money and spunked it up the wall.

 

As Margaret Thatcher so eloquently said - 'The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.'

 

Greece can sink to the bottom of the Med as far as I'm concerned. 

[JHolmesJr]

3 hours ago, bassman said:

 

Obama is totally lame and a duck.

 

Guess hope and change, plus globalization did not work out so well.  Don't know why he chose Greece to prove these points, maybe he is an idiot also.

 

Congressional leaders told him yesterday not to make any more stupid deals in the next two months.

 

He's going out of his way to be disrespectful to Trump….like Donald cares…he'll just ignore any deal this idiot sets up….and world leaders know it.

 

shouldn't he just take golf trip or start writing his memoirs….the last chapters ail be hard to write.

 

 

[Retiredandhappyhere]

When you get into debt irresponsibly, you should never be able to expect others to bail you out.  If any country were to get into massive debt and then have the debt cancelled either wholly or partially, where is the incentive for them to be more careful financially in future?  Obama suggests that other countries should help Greece out (again), now that they are paying the price with ausierity for their massive overspending in the past, which is easy to say when he is not involved.  I can imagine Trump's response.

 

The UK, as a net contributor to the EU, tried to get some concessions earlier this year and failed, resulting in Brexit.  Now, Italy is holding out for more monetary concessions in advance of a referendum later this year.  With more countries facing similar problems, I believe that several other "leaders" would be in for a similar shock to Brexit, IF their electorate were allowed a referendum on "in or out" .  Trump's "maverick" win in the USA and Brexit must have sent shivers down the spine of some European leaders, no matter how much they dispute it.  Merkel and Hollande have elections coming up next year and I guess they must be pretty worried.

  

[ilostmypassword]

Just now, Retiredandhappyhere said:

When you get into debt irresponsibly, you should never be able to expect others to bail you out.  If any country were to get into massive debt and then have the debt cancelled either wholly or partially, where is the incentive for them to be more careful financially in future?  Obama suggests that other countries should help Greece out (again), now that they are paying the price with ausierity for their massive overspending in the past, which is easy to say when he is not involved.  I can imagine Trump's response.

 

The UK, as a net contributor to the EU, tried to get some concessions earlier this year and failed, resulting in Brexit.  Now, Italy is holding out for more monetary concessions in advance of a referendum later this year.  With more countries facing similar problems, I believe that several other "leaders" would be in for a similar shock to Brexit, IF their electorate were allowed a referendum on "in or out" .  Trump's "maverick" win in the USA and Brexit must have sent shivers down the spine of some European leaders, no matter how much they dispute it.  Merkel and Hollande have elections coming up next year and I guess they must be pretty worried.

  

In the case of Greece the incentive would be that once they are expelled from the Eurozone, no one will lend them money until they demonstrate that they are behaving in a fiscally responsible manner.  And please try to remember that it wasn't Greece that was bailed out, but the banks who foolishly lent it money.  They should have been allowed to go bankrupt and the shareholders lose their investment. Let that happen a few times and banks won't be making foolish loans to unsuitable nations any more.

[hawker9000]

15 hours ago, Gary A said:

Obama doesn't seem to understand that Greece is not the same as the US, Obama can keep the presses running full time printing funny money. Greece cannot do that. Apparently paying your bills with funny money works for the socialists. The US cannot even balance the budget let alone pay anything on the astronomical national debt.

You don't get it.  Obama's not telling the Greeks to print money.  He's telling Germany to lend it to them (and send more good money after bad).   But you're right about the U.S. being in no position to preach to anyone else on the subject of debt.  Socialist agendas always, and will always, end in debacles like Greece and ludicrous levels of national debt like in the U.S.   Wingnut voters remain totally clueless, or perhaps just assume there'll always be somebody else to pick up the tab for them; just look at Bernie Sanders' following.  (And they remain totally convinced theirs is the coming thing...)