Category: Euro

From The World November 8, 2011

Welcome back to the FT’s live coverage of the eurozone crisis. Run by John Aglionby, Tom Burgis and Orla Ryan on the news desk in London, with contributions from correspondents around the world. All times are GMT.

This post should update every few minutes, although it could take longer on mobile devices.

How high will Italian bond yields have to go before Silvio Berlusconi decides he can no longer survive as prime minister? Or for his immensely loyal supporters to finally desert him? Will Greece get a new prime minister today? If so, who will accept the Herculean challenge of running the country?

Continue reading: “Live blog: Eurozone crisis”

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Posted in Euro, Fiscal policy |

Italian monitoring: the leaked Berlusconi letter

November 7, 2011 12:22 pm by Peter Spiegel

Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, at last week's G20 summit in Cannes

At the European Commission’s regular mid-day press briefing today, Amadeu Altafaj-Tardio, the spokesman for economic issues, said the Commission’s Italian monitoring team is expected to arrive this week. After agreement Friday in Cannes, the International Monetary Fund will be sending its own team at the end of the month.

But just what will they be monitoring? According to Christine Lagarde, the IMF chief, they will be reporting on the Berlusconi government’s progress in implementing promised economic reforms contained in a 14-page letter the Italian government sent to the European Union two weeks ago. It contains a laundry list of reforms Silvio Berlusconi is vowing to implement.

So that Brussels Blog readers can follow along, we wanted to post a copy of the Berlusconi letter which we obtained. Readers can access it here. Altafaj-Tardio made clear that even if Berlusconi were to step down, the monitoring would continue.

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Posted in EU Commission, Euro, Fiscal policy |
From The World November 7, 2011

Silvio Berlusconi

Welcome to the FT’s live blog on the eurozone crisis. Curated by Orla Ryan and John Aglionby on the world news desk with contributions from correspondents around the world. In Italy, doubts have emerged that Silvio Berlusconi can remain in power as the country’s borrowing costs continues to rise. Greece is expected to name a new leader after its two largest political parties late on Sunday decided to form a government of national unity. George Papandreou will stand down as prime minister.

This post should update automatically every few minutes, although it may take longer on mobile devices.

Continue reading: “Live blog: Eurozone crisis”

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Posted in Euro, Fiscal policy |
From The World November 1, 2011

 

George Papandreou Photo: AFP/Getty

Welcome to the FT’s live blog on the eurozone crisis.

Curated by John Aglionby and Orla Ryan on the world news desk with contributions from correspondents around the world. This post will update every few minutes though it may take longer on a mobile device.

George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, caused a major surprise on Monday night and re-opened the eurozone sovereign debt crisis when he announced a public referendum to approve the second bail-out thrashed out last week by European leaders. Public opinion polls show a majority of Greeks oppose the bail-out. The PM will hold an emergency cabinet meeting at 4pm UK time on Tuesday. Parliamentary debate on the proposal starts in Athens on Wednesday.

Continue reading: “Eurozone crisis: live blog”

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Posted in Euro, Fiscal policy |

Whither Greece’s new €130bn? An update…

October 31, 2011 11:31 am by Peter Spiegel

Anti-austerity protesters in Athens hold up a Greek flag that says "not for sale" on Friday.

Thanks to some help from the European Commission, we have a bit more clarity on where European leaders will be spending the new €130bn in Greek bail-out aid. But the new data we received makes all the more clear that a huge amount is dependant on the still-to-be negotiated details of the 50 per cent Greek bondholder haircut deal, which may not be completed until the end of the year.

Just to remind readers where the confusion lies, of the €130bn in new funding, only €30bn was officially earmarked in last week’s summit communiqué – and that money will go for “sweeteners” to current bondholders so they’ll participate in a bond-swap programme. If they are going to take a 50 per cent cut in the face value of their bonds, they insisted on getting something else in return, and this was the price.

Of the remaining €100bn, fully €30bn will go to bank recapitalisations, not then €20bn we assumed last week. Although EU banking authorities have called for €30bn in new capital for Greek banks, officials tell us this is in addition to the €10bn provided in the first €110bn Greek bail-out.

Which leaves us with only €70bn to actually run the Greek government for the next three years. How did European authorities come to this number? That requires even more detective work, after the jump.

Continue reading: “Whither Greece’s new €130bn? An update…”

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Posted in EU, Euro, Fiscal policy |

Greece is getting €130bn more. What for?

October 28, 2011 1:23 pm by Peter Spiegel

Greek prime minister George Papandreou, right, with his counterparts at Wednesday's summit

Thursday’s early-morning deal on a new €130bn Greek bail-out is different in magnitude and in kind from the July €109bn programme it replaces, but in one respect they’re very similar – European officials have had a hard time explaining what, exactly, the money is for.

The one thing they have announced is that €30bn of it will go to so-called “sweeteners” to convince Greek bondholders to accept 50 per cent haircuts on the face value of their bonds.

How this would work has yet to be negotiated, but in the July plan, such sweeteners were used to create a collateral pool for new, gold-plated Greek bonds that could be used in a bond swap programme. In order to convince bondholders to trade in their current bonds that are about to come due for new bonds that don’t come due for 30 years, these new bonds needed to be extra safe. The collateral “sweeteners” were the means to do that.

How is the remaining €100bn in the new €130bn Greek bail-out going to be spent? A little detective work after the jump.

Continue reading: “Greece is getting €130bn more. What for?”

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Posted in EU, Euro, Fiscal policy |
From The World October 27, 2011

Welcome back to our continuing coverage of the eurozone crisis. In the early hours of the morning, eurozone leaders emerged from their summit in Brussels with a deal designed to stem the sovereign debt crisis. The markets seem pleased but big questions on the details remain. We’ll bring you reactions, news and commentary as we get it throughout the day.

All times are London time. By Tom Burgis on the news desk in London, with contributions from FT correspondents around the world. This post should update automatically every few minutes, but it may take longer on mobile devices.

14.33: In Brussels, EU officials and journalists are walking around in a daze following the euro-summit’s 6am finish on Thursday morning, reports the FT’s Stanley Pignal:

Continue reading: “Eurozone crisis: live blog”

Posted in Euro, Fiscal policy |
From The World October 26, 2011

Welcome back to our continuing coverage of the eurozone crisis as we head into the evening. Europe’s leaders have gathered in Brussels to try to deliver a solution to the sovereign debt crisis. It has been nervy day in the markets and national capitals – all of which you can read about on our live coverage from earlier on. Tonight we should discover whether Europe’s leaders can overcome their differences and chart a course towards recovery or whether they will once again fail to reach a deal. We’ll bring you news and commentary as we get it.

All times are London time. By Tom Burgis on the world news desk in London, with contributions from FT correspondents around the world. This post should update automatically every few minutes, but it may take longer on mobile devices.

Continue reading: “Eurozone crisis: the evening session”

Posted in Euro, Fiscal policy |
From The World October 26, 2011

Welcome to our continuing coverage of the eurozone crisis. Today’s summit in Brussels could, in years to come, be viewed as a turning point in the eurozone crisis. Or, it could be just one more extended meeting at which policymakers tried – and failed – to agree on a plan big enough to calm the storm in Europe’s sovereign debt markets. We’ll bring you news and commentary throughout the day.

All times are London time. By Esther Bintliff on the world news desk in London, with contributions from FT correspondents around the world. This post should update automatically every few minutes, but it may take longer on mobile devices.

13.05: In case you want to know the timetable for tonight’s summit, it’s here. Ominous small print: “The programme may be modified in light of progress of the meeting.”

Continue reading: “Eurozone crisis: live blog”

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Posted in Euro, Fiscal policy |

[UPDATED] A sign the big summit could fall short?

October 25, 2011 1:09 pm by Peter Spiegel

Juncker, left, heads Eurogroup of 17 euro finance ministers. Rostowski, right, the Ecofin of all 27.

UPDATE 2: The Polish presidency has just made the official announcement. They say the cancellation allows heads of government to decide the things finance ministers were originally going to tackle. Despite negative market reaction to the news, several EU diplomats insist this is a diplomatic miscue by the Poles rather than a sign of things to come.

UPDATE: European diplomat confirms meeting of 27 EU finance ministers has been cancelled.

It’s getting uncomfortably close to crunch time for eurozone leaders, with just over 24 hours left before the summit-to-end-all-summits. But will they actually be able to agree on the big euro rescue plan? A letter sent last night by Jacek Rostowski, the Polish finance minister, makes it seem doubtful.

Since Poland currently holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, Rostowski is charged with convening a meeting of all 27 EU finance ministers tomorrow ahead of the big summit to lay the groundwork for a final agreement.

But officials tell Brussels Blog the so-called “Ecofin” council meeting is now likely off, and in a letter to Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg prime minister who chairs the group of 17 eurozone finance ministers, Rostowski makes it appear the cancellation is due to a failure to agree on outstanding issues.

Continue reading: “[UPDATED] A sign the big summit could fall short?”

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Posted in Economic governance, EU, Euro, Fiscal policy |
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Contact the Brussels blog team: Peter Spiegel, Joshua Chaffin, Alex Barker and Stanley Pignal.

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The Brussels blog authors

Peter Spiegel is the FT's Brussels bureau chief. He returned to the FT in August 2010 after spending five years covering foreign policy and national security issues from Washington for the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times, focusing on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He first joined the FT in 1999 covering business regulation and corporate crime in its Washington bureau, before spending four years covering military affairs and the defence industry in London and Washington.

Joshua Chaffin is one of the FT's EU correspondents, covering areas including policies on trade, the environment and energy. He has worked in the FT's Brussels bureau since late 2008 and before that was an FT correspondent in New York and Washington DC.

Alex Barker is EU correspondent, covering the single market, financial regulation and competition. He was formerly an FT political correspondent in the UK and joined the FT in 2005.

Stanley Pignal is Brussels correspondent for the Financial Times, covering EU justice, home affairs, social developments, telecoms and the Benelux region. He joined the bureau in January 2009, having previously worked for the FT as a corporate reporter in London.

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