London solidarity with Greece

From daily The Morning Star in Britain:

Wednesday 24th June 2015

HUNDREDS of people descended on London’s Trafalgar Square last night in support of the Greek government as Europe’s pressure on debt repayment increases.

Among the night’s speakers were not only members of the Greek ruling party Syriza, but also of anti-debt and anti-austerity campaigns from across Europe.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with them stood Labour MPs including Jon Trickett and prospective party leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Greece Solidarity Campaign’s Paul Mackney said he called the rally to show how, as long as Greece finds itself confronted by the powers of the eurozone, its people “will never stand alone.”

“Whatever happens on Thursday there be a need for an ongoing solidarity movement with the people of Greece,” he added, referring to the emergency summit expected to reveal the Eurogroup’s agreement with Greece.

“Tonight is really a show of support.”

The protest was part of a series of events happening across Europe in solidarity with Greece and in support of debt cancellation.

Creditors’ economic plan for Greece is illiterate and doomed to fail. The troika’s austerity policies have already failed twice, and once again they will only make the severe economic problems that Athens faces worse: here.

Greek crisis: Merkel placing investors above democracy, says Habermas. German philosopher accuses chancellor of undermining EU and its common currency: here.

From daily The Guardian in Britain today:

Here’s why talks between Greece and creditors are in crisis again

Greece and its creditors are still deeply divided over three key areas — corporate taxation, the overhaul of Greece’s pension system and value-added taxes.

That’s according to the latest counter-proposal from the Institutions, which the Wall Street Journal has seen. And which Greece has rejected.

According to the WSJ, Greece’s creditors won’t accept some of the tax rises on businesses, which they want toned down.

But they also want more money clawed from consumers through VAT hikes.

And Greece’s plan to raise pension contributions while protecting payments to existing pensioners is also being challenged. Creditors want more frontline cuts.

So, first, there was a compromise plan, in which the Greek government would balance its budget by cuts in military spending, instead of cutting pensions to a starvation level of 300 euros a month. The IMF and its accomplices shot that compromise down.

Then, the Greek government made more concessions. Taxes on big business would rise, balancing the budget, and cutting pensions to a starvation level of 300 euros a month would not happen. Also, the IMF-European Central Bank-European Commission plans to raise Value Added Tax, which would ruin Greek small businesses and consumers, especially poor people, would become reality only partially. However, it looks like the troika intends to humiliate the Greek people for voting in democratic elections. They have a message, not only for Greek people, but for people elsewhere in Europe and in the world: ‘Votes don’t matter, only billionaires matter. No to democracy, yes to financial oligarchy!’

Greece’s international creditors yesterday tore up new austerity proposals from Athens, demanding far deeper cuts. The move came ahead of last night’s emergency meeting in Brussels of the euro group, made up of the eurozone’s finance ministers: here.

Related articles

• British Leftist Corbyn campaigns for Labour party leadership
• 250,000 Take Part In #EndAusterityNow Rallies Across The UK – One MEP Tries To Dismiss The Masses
• VIDEO: Charlotte Church ‘shows solidarity’
• Londoners support Greek people
• British elections, Jeremy Corbyn comments
• Jeremy Corbyn MP and Medea Benjamin to Speak at Anti-War Conference this Saturday
• Wow! Govt ‘tax raid’ of 1.3 bln euros in 2015 from hiked VAT, curb on early retirements
• SYRIZA’s left pushes back
• The Looming Austerity Package