Row over Athens' debts grotesque

The negotiations over partial debt-relief for Greece have not reached completion as anticipated. Above all there is still one problem with the policy, writes Jean Quatremer on his blog Coulisses de Bruxelles: "One question still remains open. Must public creditors also say goodbye to part of their money? Because even if the private investors - that is banks, insurance companies, hedge funds etc. - accept a loss of over 50 percent, the Greek debt burden would only drop by 28.5 percent. ... A further problem isn't being talked about at all: the 80 billion euros granted in May 2010 as bilateral loans are linked to a punitive interest rate. ... In other words: this means an automatic increase in the Greek deficit, and consequently its public debt. What an irony!"

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