Brexit 'Weekly'

02 July 2015

Greece's crisis over the week, with Greece default on IMF, break of negotiations with the Eurogroup, ECB maintaining the ELA at current levels, Greeke referendum & capital controls, Grexit?, the Five President's Report, TheCityUK's reform agenda for EU Treaties, CMU and more.

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  Articles from 25 June 2015 - 02 July 2015

  Political
 
 
Remarks by Jeroen Dijsselboem following Eurogroup conference call of 1 July 2015
Eurogroup President talked with Greece's PM Alexis Tsipras and concluded that the old programme will not be extended, and that the European institutions will "simply await now the outcome of the referendum on Sunday".   View Article
EUbusiness: Greece becomes first developed country to default on IMF
Greece missed a 1.5 billion euro ($1.7 billion) payment to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday. This made Greece the only developed country ever to fall into default with the global crisis lender.  View Article
ECB: ELA to Greek banks maintained at its current level
The ECB takes note of decision on Greek referendum and the non-prolongation of the EU adjustment programme, and has announced it will continue Emergency Liquidity Assistance at Friday’s (26 June 2015) level to maintain financial stability.  View Article
Financial Times: The ECB will defend the euro even if Greece quits
The European Central Bank had no alternatives to maintaining the ELA at its current levels. It is ready to do whatever it takes to maintain the integrity of the monetary union, even if one of its members opts out.  View Article
Financial Times: Tsipras backs down on many Greece bailout demands
Greek PM will accept most of the bailout creditors’ conditions offered last weekend, but is still insisting on a handful of changes that could thwart a deal according to a letter he sent the night Greece defaulted on the IMF.  View Article
Statement on behalf of the European Commission on the capital controls imposed by the Greek authorities
Commissioner Hill said capital controls are justified to maintain the stability of the Greek's financial and banking system, but free movement of capitals should return as soon as possible, "in the interest of the Greek economy, the Eurozone, and the European Union's single market as a whole".  View Article
Bloomberg: What are Greece's Capital Controls?
Greece has imposed capital controls. Here's a translated official document of what the government has to say about the situation.  View Article
Wall Street Journal: The Greek referendum documents
Greeks will be asked on 5th July to vote on a complicated question that refers to two documents hard to understand, and that many people have not seen.   View Article
European Commission: President Juncker wants the Greek people to know the truth
Juncker explained the proposed package for Greece, rejected by the government, and asked the Greek people to vote "yes" in the forthcoming referendum.  View Article
ECB's Cœuré:Interview with Les Echos
Benoît Cœuré talked about Greece, noting that "Greece exiting the euro area, which used to be theoretical, can unfortunately no longer be ruled out."  View Article
As it happened – Yanis Varoufakis’ intervention during the 27th June 2015 Eurogroup Meeting
The Greek Minister of Finance argues in this post that the reason why the negotiations were broken was that EU "Ministers turned down the Greek government’s request that the Greek people should be granted a single week" for a referendum of the latest proposals.  View Article
European Commission: EC, ECB and IMF's latest draft proposals for the Greek government
Information from the European Commission on the latest draft proposals in the context of negotiations with Greece. They were due to be presented before Greece's unilateral break of talks.  View Article
European Council: Eurogroup statement on Greece
The negotiations between the institutions and the Greek authorities are broken. Eurogroup's President Dijsselbloem has noted that the programme expires next Tuesday, and that they will do "whatever is necessary to ensure financial stability of the euro area".  View Article
European Council: Remarks by President Tusk following the first session of the EC meeting
The European Council said there isn't yet an agreement between Greece and the Institutions, and that the Eurogroup is expected to conclude on Saturday. On UK referendum on EU membership, Tusk confirmed the talks on UK renegotiation will now get underway: December will be the starting date.  View Article
EurActiv / Yves Bertoncini: The EU and Greece - Exiting the IMF era, not the euro
The end of the EU aid programme to Greece on 30 June, and the organisation of a Greek referendum on 5 July, raise the prospect of ending the “IMF - Europe” era, opened under the pressure of the crisis.  View Article
POLITICO: The politics of debt relief
Here's what Greece and its creditors will have to take into account now that Athens has missed its IMF payment.  View Article
Wall Street Journal: Greece’s five possible future currency arrangements
Greece might stay in the eurozone, keep the euro but sit outside the eurozone, create a new currency, set up a dual system, or move to a new drachma, according to Stephen Fidler.  View Article
Financial Times: The road to Grexit and beyond
Alexis Tsipras was right to walk away. But it was a momentous decision nevertheless when the Greek Prime Minister rejected an offer that would have allowed it to pay its debt to the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank.  View Article
VoxEu: Grexit - The staggering cost of central bank dependence
This weekend’s dramatic events saw the ECB capping emergency assistance to Greece. This column argues that the ECB’s decision is the last of a long string of ECB mistakes in this crisis.  View Article
Financial Times: Greek banks - not in their hands
If Greece’s creditors do a deal with Athens, the woes of its lenders will be limited to a liquidity crisis.  View Article
VoxEU: Greece can still avoid a catastrophic exit from the Eurozone
Grexit and the reintroduction of the drachma would have severe consequences for the Greek people. This would produce a sharp devaluation of the drachma, inflation, and a severe reduction in real wages and pensions.  View Article
Bruegel: Greece - from default to Grexit?
Greece’s sovereign default and banking crisis doesn't mean its immediate and automatic exit from the Eurozone, but some hypothetical scenarios need to be taken into consideration.  View Article
European Commission: Next steps on the "5 Presidents' Report" on completing Europe's EMU
To mark Stage 1 of the Deepening of Europe's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which started on 1 July 2015, the College of Commissioners had a first debate on the "Five Presidents' Report".   View Article
TheCityUK’s EU reform agenda: detailed proposals for a competitive Europe
The main point of the report, launched at TheCityUK’s Annual Conference, is a call for a renewed focus on completing a deep and strong Single Market and ensuring it is fit for purpose.  View Article
EurActiv: Cameron should not ignore EU CMU reforms
The Capital Markets Union has the potential to transform the way that European businesses are funded, thereby bringing much needed dynamism to the economy. This is the sort of pro-growth European reform that the UK should be leading.  View Article
Financial Times: Britain would not survive a vote for Brexit
For the UK, the choice has become existential. If Britain leaves Europe, Scotland will leave Britain. The union of the United Kingdom would not long survive Brexit.  View Article
European Council: Luxembourg takes over Council presidency
Luxembourg will have to deal with many pressing issues, including the Greek debt crisis, an increase in irregular migration and the preparation for the climate change conference in Paris in December.  View Article
 
  Financial
 
 
ESMA: Verena Ross speaking on regulatory outlook at CISI 2015 annual conference
The main highlights of her speech were: CMU, investor protection - both under the MiFID II framework -, the work ESMA is doing together with the other European Supervisory Authorities, and the digitalisation of financial services.  View Article
AFME and ICMA release Guide to infrastructure financing in support of the Investment Plan for Europe
This is the first comprehensive and practical guide to help infrastructure issuers, sponsors and project companies more easily tap various types of funding, including bank, private placement and public project bond financing in Europe.  View Article
 
  Economic
 
 
ECB's Mersch: On European unity - Economic and Institutional challenges facing Europe
The speech of European Central Bank's Yves Mersch focus on implementing large-scale asset purchases, monetary policy and structural reforms, and the Five President's Report.  View Article
Bruegel: Euro area governance - an assessment of the “five presidents” report
The aim of the report is to prepare a roadmap for the completion of EMU, which is “not an end in itself” but a “means to create a better life for all citizens”. This post discusses its key elements.  View Article
EurActiv: The eurozone’s Five Presidents' report, and what it means for Britain
Between the lines, the new ‘five presidents’ report’ on the future of EMU tells an interesting story about how eurozone leaders see their future together, and Britain should take note.  View Article
ECB's Praet: The APP impact on the economy and bond markets
Peter Praet notes in his speech that the ECB’s expanded Asset Purchase Programme has been producing its intended aim of easing of monetary and financial conditions.  View Article
 
  Budgetary
 
 
Fondation Robert Schuman: Interview with EP's TAXE Comittee Chair Alain Lamassoure
The Single Market is the best chance the old continent has to remain competitive; this is why European competition and tax policies can no longer be drawn up separately.  View Article
 

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