Only after four o'clock tonight, after new cuts imposed on Athens' private creditors, it was finally reached agreement on Greek debt. But the negotiation was more complicated than expected because, once again, it was necessary to redo the accounts: 136 billion was needed, not 130. Without the new correction, at the end of the therapy, in 2020, the debt/GDP ratio would have fallen only 129%, and not 120% as budgeted. At that point the pressure on private creditors began: four times the Greek representatives were forced by the Germans and the Dutch to rush to the private creditors' table to obtain further discounts. After a dramatic tug of war, the cut in interest rates, already set at 50%, has risen to 53,5%, which should make it possible to achieve the goal of bringing the debt to 120,5% of GDP by 2020.
In total, Greece's bailout plan is worth 230 billion: 130 coming from states, another 100 from the cancellation of private debts. In the end, according to ECB president Mario Draghi, "a very good agreement was reached". However, the "Sustainability Report" distributed to the participants during the meeting paints a dramatic scenario. At best, Athens will need at least another 2020 billion euros by 50. The worst case scenario is much more dramatic: the bill for Europe could rise by at least another 75 billion in the next 8 years, a figure which would also serve to contain the Greek debt within a much wider limit, 160% of GDP.
Despite everything, our prime minister remains optimistic. Second Mario Monti the agreement reached overnight “is a good result for Greece, for the Eurozone and for the markets. It was a long process”, but the agreement demonstrates that “Europe is capable of functioning”.
Even the Greek Prime Minister, Lucas Papademos, he said he was "very satisfied" with the result. The Greek premier then admitted that the full implementation of the agreement reached overnight will depend on Athens' ability to implement the economic recovery program "in time and effectively". But the former central banker is "convinced that the government that will take office after the early elections in April will be equally committed to fully respecting the programme, because it is in the interest of the Greek people".
