Finnish threat leaves Greek talks on knife edge

.irishtimes.com ^ | Derek Scally, Fiach Kelly

[BenLurkin]

Euro group talks in Brussels have run into difficulty after signals that eurosceptic populists in Finland’s ruling coalition will bring down the two-month-old government if Helsinki backs a third aid package for Greece.

Irish sources have said it was “increasingly difficult to reach common ground” as talks progressed in Brussels. Finnish opposition would prevent the euro group, meeting in Brussels, reaching a unanimous decision to open negotiations for a third Greek programe.

...

The Finns party joined a three-way centre-right coalition in May but its leader Timi Soini, now foreign minister, has maintained that bailouts in general, and particularly bailouts to Greece, are a “pyramid scheme”.

Given the refusal of the Finns to back any third bailout in a parliamentary vote in Helsinki, liberal finance minister Alexander Stubb reportedly told his euro colleagues he could not agree to a third bailout as applied for by Athens. Government sources contacted in Finland declined to comment on the reports.

It as the second twist of the euro group meeting after reports that German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble has flagged a five-year Greek exit from the euro zone as one option for resolving the five-year crisis in the country.

Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine’s Sunday edition has published extracts from a leaked finance ministry paper that raises a so-called Grexit as one of two options to prevent further deterioration of Greece’s situation with respect to the euro zone.

The paper reportedly views the latest proposals from Athens, the basis for Saturday’s talks about a third aid programme, as failing to address “central, important reform areas to modernise the country and bring sustainable development”.

Thus the FAS says the Berlin finance ministry concludes in its analysis that the proposals “cannot be the basis for a completely new ESM [European Stability Mechanism] programme on a three-year basis”.

[dfwgator]

Expect the Russkies in turn, to start rattling their sabres against Finland.

[Steely Tom]

When the whole thing collapses, they’ll pin it all on Finland.

Wonderful what you can do with low-information voters, isn’t it.

[Gay State Conservative]

Finland is one of the few EU countries that are populated by hard working,productive people.Such countries are getting sick and tired of supporting the lazy parasites of Europe's “Siesta Bloc”.

[Gay State Conservative]

Expect the Russkies in turn, to start rattling their sabres against Finland.

I wouldn't bet against it.The Soviet kleptocracy has most of its billions in Euros.

[StoneWall Brigade]

Dr. Chuck Missler’s news letter talked about this months ago intresting

[wally_bert]

James May said something along the lines of “want to win? Hire a Finn”.

[Hugin]

Why? How does Russia benefit from saving the EU? If anything they would want Greece out so they can come to the rescue, at least to a degree. Like maybe giving Greece low cost oil and gas.

[BobL]

As I’ve said before, the European elites will send their first-born into a live volcano before giving up on their dream of a unified Europe.

They will give Greece whatever Greece wants, FOR ETERNITY. The only thing going on now is what will be a futile attempt to lower the extortion level.

[fortheDeclaration]

True.

[null and void]

Finland:

According to http://satwcomic.com/big-brother-sweden

[KarlInOhio]

Good to see another SATW fan.

http://satwcomic.com/a-zorba-slowing-down is SATW's take on Greece (don't go if you are offended by a certain f-word that describes the US debt, and I don't mean fiscal).