The problem is not Greece, the problem is in how the EU set up its finance and banking system. And yes, unless we get a serious reform going, the EU is likely to see economic collapse.
Never forget this: The EU is in trouble not because of Greece, but because of forced supranational interdependency. The EU by all rights should not exist, nor should any centralized supranational single currency system.
The referendum is the opportunity for Greeks to reject EU-IMF-German bullying. Greeks must stand firm against EU-IMF-German bullying, and the rest of Europe must stand with them. . . . . . EU, is a Big Business lobby group, nothing more. Common standards, open borders, free trade, common currency, trans-European highways, are all there to benefit Big Business.
Below is the abbreviated transcript of a wide-ranging interview with Segei Ivanov, chief of staff to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ivanov, a former KGB officer, is a long-time colleague of Mr. Putin dating back to Leningrad in the 1970s. The interview was conducted in Russian and translated by Kathrin Hille for the Financial Times. The summary analysis of this interview by the editors of the Financial Times can be found at this link. (H/T to Patrick Foy for bringing the interview to my attention.)
This is a long complex interview but well worth the reader’s time.
The research of the Committee presented in this preliminary report sheds light on the fact that the entire adjustment programme, to which Greece has been subjugated, was and remains a politically orientated programme. The technical exercise surrounding macroeconomic variables and debt projections, figures directly relating to people’s lives and livelihoods, has enabled discussions around the debt to remain at a technical level mainly revolving around the argument that the policies imposed on Greece will improve its capacity to pay the debt back. The facts presented in this report challenge this argument. All the evidence we present in this report shows that Greece not only does not have the ability to pay this debt, but also should not pay this debt first and foremost because the debt emerging from the Troika’s arrangements is a direct infringement on the fundamental human rights of the residents of Greece. Hence, we came to the conclusion that Greece should not pay this debt because it is illegal, illegitimate, and odious.
China views Iran as a central element in its much-touted Silk Road Economic Belt, which aims to extend Beijing's influence overland through Central Asia to the Persian Gulf and Europe.