Greece is set to sell out its future for a fast buck, $59m actually. But they are putting at risk their tourism and shipping industry, the major part of the Greek economy.
There is no escape from the terminal debt Greece is in, there is no doubt in the near future the economy will collapse completely.
Greece has asked for 53.5 billion euros ($59 billion) to help cover its debts until 2018, a review of primary surplus targets and “reprofiling” the country’s long-term debt.
In turn, Athens bowed to demands to phase out tax breaks for its islands — cash cows for the tourism industry — and to hike taxes on shipping companies.
The chairman of Eurogroup finance ministers confirmed receiving the documents but will not comment until they have been assessed by experts from the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund. U.S. stock futures jumped 1 percent in early Asian trade on the announced measures.
Greek lawmakers will be asked on Friday to authorize the leftist government to negotiate a list of “prior actions” it would take before any fresh aid funds are disbursed, a key step to convince skeptical lenders of its serious intent.
Leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spent the day with his cabinet drafting a last-ditch package of measures on which Greece’s survival in the euro zone hinges.
A further vote would be needed to turn them into law if euro zone leaders agree at a summit on Sunday that the proposals are a basis for starting negotiations on a three-year loan and releasing some bridging funds to keep Greece afloat.
In a sign of possible trouble ahead, the head of Tsipras’s junior coalition ally — which has threatened to pull the plug on the government if the island tax breaks were scrapped — did not add his signature to the reform proposals. Neither did Energy Minister Panagiotis Lafazanis, who leads the far-left flank of the ruling Syriza party.
The latest offer also included defense spending cuts, a firm timetable for privatizing state assets such as Piraeus port and regional airports, hikes in VAT for hotels and restaurants and slashing a top-up payment for poorer pensioners.
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