Σε οκτώ ημέρες οι Ευρωπαίοι ηγέτες θα πρέπει να δώσουν λύση στην κρίση χρέους
Κρίσιμες θα είναι οι επόμενες οκτώ ημέρες για την Ευρωζώνη, καθώς οι ηγέτες της θα πρέπει να προχωρήσουν σε άμεσες και αποφασιστικές λύσης στο θέμα της κρίσης χρέους και του ελληνικού χρέους, στην επικείμενη κρίσιμη Σύνοδο Κορυφής, ύστερα από τις νέες πιέσεις που δέχτηκαν τόσο από το G20 όσο και από την Ουάσινγκτον.Με κοινό ανακοινωθέν τους οι υπουργοί Οικονομικών και κεντρικοί τραπεζίτες ζήτησαν από τους Ευρωπαίους ηγέτες να προχωρήσουν σε αποφασιστικές ενέργειες, και άμεσες λύσεις που θα πρέπει να υιοθετηθούν στην Σύνοδο της 23ης Οκτωβρίου.
Όπως αναφερόταν στο προσχέδιο του κοινού ανακοινωθέντος οι υπουργοί Οικονομικών των ισχυρότερων οικονομιών του κόσμου επεσήμαναν ότι «προσβλέπουμε σε γρηγορότερους ρυθμούς, ώστε να μεγιστοποιηθεί ο ρόλος του EFSF και να μην εξαπλωθεί η κρίση».
Πάντως, την βεβαιότητα ότι θα λυθεί η κρίση χρέους της Ελλάδας παρείχε σήμερα στο Παρίσι, ο υπουργός Οικονομικών της Γερμανίας, Βόλφγκανγκ Σόιμπλε, ενώ και ο Επίτροπος Όλι Ρεν ξεκαθάρισε ότι οι βασικές αρχές του δεύτερου πακέτου βοήθειας της Ελλάδας, θα συμφωνηθούν, στη διάρκεια της κρίσιμης Συνόδου Κορυφής στις 23 Οκτωβρίου
Είχε προηγηθεί τηλεφωνική επικοινωνία μεταξύ της Γερμανίδας καγκελάριου Άγκελα Μέρκελ με τον Αμερικανό πρόεδρο Μπαράκ Ομπάμα για τις εξελίξεις στην Ευρωζώνη και τα μέτρα, που πρέπει να ληφθούν.
Από την πλευρά τους, οι υπουργοί Οικονομικών του G20 παρείχαν δεσμεύσεις για την κεφαλαιακή ενίσχυση των τραπεζών, σε περίπτωση που χρειαστεί να δανείσουν. Ωστόσο, η κεφαλαιακή ενίσχυση του ΔΝΤ βρήκε ισχυρές αντιστάσεις από την Ουάσινγκτον. Ο Αμερικανός υπουργός Οικονομικών Τίμοθι Γκάιτνερ υπογράμμισε ότι οι μη δεσμευμένοι πόροι του Ταμείου είναι επαρκείς.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner endorsed Europe’s emerging plan to beat the sovereign debt crisis as global finance chiefs pushed for a solution at an Oct. 23 summit of the region’s leaders.
Europe’s woes, which are rattling financial markets and threatening the world economy, dominated talks today in Paris between finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 leading economies. The officials urged European Union leaders to act “decisively" at next weekend’s emergency meeting in Brussels and to quell the threat of contagion by maximizing the firepower of their 440 billion-euro ($611 billion) bailout fund.
“We heard encouraging things from our European colleagues,” Geithner told reporters after the meeting. “The plan has the right elements.”
Europe’s strategy currently includes writing down Greek bonds by as much as 50 percent, establishing a backstop for banks and magnifying the strength of the newly-enhanced European Financial Stability Facility, people familiar with the matter said yesterday. Optimism the two-year crisis may soon be tamed spurred stocks higher this week and pushed the euro to its biggest gain against the dollar in more than two years.
‘Huge’ Pressure
European officials “will have left Paris under no misunderstanding that there is a huge amount of pressure on them to deliver a solution,” U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne told reporters. Next weekend “is the moment people are expecting something quite impressive.”
The G-20 policy makers -- who met to prepare for a Nov. 3-4 gathering of leaders in Cannes,France -- said the world economy faces “heightened tensions and significant downside risks” that must be addressed. They vowed to keep banks capitalized and financial markets stable, while reiterating an aversion to excess currency volatility.
Officials were split over whether Europe’s travails meant the International Monetary Fund should be handed more cash, beyond agreeing it must have “adequate resources to fulfil its systemic responsibilities.” Emerging markets such as China are considering whether the lender needs more money, while officials from the U.S., Germany and Canada were among those to say either that the euro area must fix for its problems first or the IMF already has plentiful and untapped resources.
U.S. Support
Geithner nevertheless signaled there may be more foreign cash available for Europe, saying the fund has a “substantial arsenal” and that the U.S. would support further use of it to “supplement a comprehensive, well-designed European strategy.”
Almost two years to the day since Greece set the crisis in motion by announcing it had underestimated its budget deficit, Europe’s latest strategy hinges on putting it on a viable path. Austerity has plunged Greece deeper into recession and provoked civil unrest that threatens political stability.
Failure to curb the pain has led to Portugal and Ireland requiring bailouts and markets are now targeting larger debt- strapped nations such as Italy. Investors are concerned that if the crisis is allowed to fester, the world economy could face a repeat of the chaos that followed the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Five-Point Plan
In the works is a five-point plan foreseeing a solution for Greece, bolstering of the European Financial Stability Facility rescue fund, fresh capital for banks, a new push to boost competitiveness and consideration of European treaty amendments to tighten economic management.
The Greek bond losses now envisaged in the plan may be accompanied by a pledge to rule out debt restructurings in other countries that received bailouts, such as Portugal, to persuade investors that Europe has mastered the crisis, said the people yesterday.
Options include tweaking a July accord struck with investors for a 21 percent net-present-value reduction in Greek debt holdings. One variant would take that reduction up to 50 percent, the people said.
Under a more aggressive proposal, investors would exchange Greek bonds for new debt at a lower face value collateralized by the euro area’s AAA-rated rescue fund, the people said. The ultimate option is a restructuring involving write-downs without collateral, they said.
Bank Backstop
The bank-aid model under discussion is to set up a European-level backstop capitalized by the rescue fund, the people said. It would have the power to take direct equity stakes in banks and provide guarantees on bank liabilities.
Officials are considering seven ways of multiplying the strength of Europe’s temporary rescue fund. The options break down into two broad categories: enabling it to borrow from theEuropean Central Bank or using it to partly insure new bonds issued by distressed governments. The ECB has all but ruled out the first method, making bond insurance more likely, the people said.
EFSF guarantees of new bonds might range from 20 percent to 30 percent, a person familiar with those deliberations said. Recourse to bond insurance suggests the central bank will need to maintain its secondary-market purchases for an unspecified “interim” period, people said.
ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, who attended today’s G- 20 meeting, reiterated the central bank hopes to stop purchasing government bonds once the EFSF is able to take over.
A consensus is emerging to accelerate the setup of a permanent aid fund planned for July 2013, the European Stability Mechanism. Next week’s discussions will focus on creating it a year earlier, in July 2012, and easing unanimity rules that permit solitary countries to block bailouts.
To contact the reporters on this story: Simon Kennedy in Paris at skennedy4@bloomberg.netCheyenne Hopkins in Paris at chopkins19@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net
