European Crisis
On the state of the European Union – Address at the 41st Forum of The European House-Ambrosetti
, 07/09/2015
In a session entitled ‘Old and New Conflicts and Challenges in the EU’, featuring also Peter Sutherland (FT), Mario Monti and Otmar Issing, I used the unwillingness of the Eurogroup, and the troika, even to consider a document prepared by my (then) ministry (entitled “A Policy Framework for Greece’s Fiscal Consolidation, Recover and Growth“) as a […]
On CNBC discussing Greece and Europe – full transcript, 4th September 2015
, 04/09/2015
First on CNBC Interview: Squawk Box Europe Interview Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek Finance Minister Following are excerpts from the unofficial transcript of a First on CNBC interview with Yanis Varoufakis, former Greek Finance Minister, aired on Friday 4th September on Squawk Box Europe. CLICK HERE FOR THE CNBC SITE OR…
Democratizing the Eurozone – a Project-Syndicate op-ed
, 02/09/2015
ATHENS – Like Macbeth, policymakers tend to commit new sins to cover up their old misdemeanors. And political systems prove their worth by how quickly they put an end to their officials’ serial, mutually reinforcing, policy mistakes. Judged by this standard, the eurozone, comprising 19 established democracies, lags behind the largest non-democratic economy in the […]
Varoufakis on Schäuble – extract from Stephan Lamby's SWR-ADR documentary
, 31/08/2015
Extract from Stephan Lamby’s SWR-ADR documentary Schäuble: Power & Powerlessness in which I discuss our government’s January-June 2015 negotiating experience and aspects of my discussions with Dr Wolfgang Schäuble.
In THE CONVERSATION answering to leading academics
, 27/08/2015
Click here for website of THE CONVERSATION or…
The Spectre of Democracy haunts Europe – in conversation with Phillip Adams, Late Night Live, ABC Radio National 26th Aug 2015
, 27/08/2015
In discussion with Phillip Adams, on my favourite radio program (LNL), on my recent Frangy address/manifesto for a campaign to Democratise the Eurozone as well as, of course, on the forthcoming snap Greek election.
The Athens Spring lives on! Speech at Frangy-en-Bresse, with Arnaud Montebourg
, 25/08/2015
On Sunday 23th August, I joined forces with Arnaud Montembourg in Frangy-en-Bresse (or Frangy-en-Grece as it was renamed for the day!) to put forward to the people of France a simple message: There is no alternative but the democratisation of the Eurozone! For the full text of my speech click here. And for a translation in […]
The Greek Plan for Growth & Recovery: Two documents the Ministry of Finance tabled in May and June 2015
, 20/08/2015
Now that Greece’s Third Memorandum of Understanding has passed (see here for my annotated version), after the SYRIZA government surrendered on 12th July 2015, it is perhaps of interest to compare the ‘Reform Agenda’ in that agreement with the agenda the Ministry of Finance had presented to the institutions on two occasions, in May and June […]
A New Approach to Eurozone Sovereign Debt – op-ed in Project Syndicate
, 17/08/2015
My latest column for Project Syndicate is now out. Click here for the Project Syndicate page or read on:
My question to Christine Lagarde, Eurogroup 25th June 2015 – as narrated by Landon Thomas in the NYT
, 17/08/2015
During the 25th June 2015 Eurogroup, the institutions presented me, in the form of an effective utlimatum, with a comprehensive staff level agreement and funding plan (which I considered financially non-viable). It was the deal that Prime Minister Tsipras decided, on the following day, to put to the Greek people in the form of the now […]
Varoufakis and Lamont interviewed on Radio 4 on their peculiar political friendship
, 17/08/2015
Further to this piece on my unlikely friendship with Lord Lamont, the BBC’s Radio 4 interviewed us, together. To hear the interview, on World At One, click on the play button below.
Greece’s Third MoU (Memorandum of Understading) annotated by Yanis Varoufakis
, 17/08/2015
The Third Greek MoU is now enshrined in Greek Law. Written in troika-speak it is almost impossible to decypher by those not speaking this unappetising language. Click here for the complete MoU text annotated liberally by yours truly – in pdf form. It is best read in conjunction with my annotated version of the EuroSummit Agreement […]
Vindicated, while Lagarde emerges a loser? – David Marsh in MarketWatch
, 04/08/2015
In his Monday column on MarketWatch David Marsh entitled his opinion piece: “Varoufakis vidicated, while Lagarde emerges as a loser”. Of course the point is not whether I have, or have not, been vindicated. The crucial issue concerns the viability, or otherwise, of the latest Greek deal. From day 1 I have been arguing that Ms […]
Greek Tragedy – by Christos Tsiolkas (in conversation with Yanis Varoufakis), MONTHLY magazine
, 03/08/2015
Novelist Christos Tsiolkas (The Slap, Baraccuda etc.) wrote this piece (for the Australian magazine MONTHLY) from a Greek-Australian perspective (after the two of us had talked extensively over the telephone). Click on the photo above or…
In conversation with El Pais (Claudi Pérez), the complete (long) transcript
, 02/08/2015
Claudi Pérez, of El Pais, inteviewed me in our Athens apartment last week. Here is the article that emerged recently in El Pais. The complete, unedited, transcript (in English) follows:
Death by Debt: My Response to The German Finance Ministry, by Jeffrey Sachs
, 01/08/2015
Dr. Ludger Schuknecht, senior economist at the Germany Finance Ministry, explains his ministry’s viewpoint regarding Greece. This viewpoint essentially holds that Eurozone countries should live within their means; adjust to their debt burdens; and take their reform medicine as needed. If they do so, they will be successful, as illustrated by Ireland, Spain, and Portugal. Greece […]
Something is rotten in the eurozone kingdom – my op-ed in the Financial Times
, 01/08/2015
Plan would have eased Greece’s chronic liquidity shortage, writes Yanis Varoufakis in the Financial Times. A paradox lurks in the foundations of the eurozone. Governments in the monetary union lack a central bank that has their back, while the central bank lacks a government to support it.
In favour of Varoufakis’ Plan B – by Paul Tyson
, 01/08/2015
In a recently released recording of a teleconference between Yanis Varoufakis and a group of hedge fund managers, Mr Varoufakis spoke frankly about the contingency plans he had developed when he was the Finance Minister.
The Defeat of Europe – my piece in Le Monde Diplomatique
, 30/07/2015
Click on the image above for the LMD site. Or…
In… my defence – by Mohamed El Erian
, 30/07/2015
In Defense of Varoufakis by MOHAMED A. EL-ERIAN Click here for the Project Syndicate site. Or…
A Most Peculiar Friendship
, 30/07/2015
Crises sever old bonds. But they also forge splendid new friendships. Over the past months one such friendship has struck me as a marvellous reflection of the new possibilities that Europe’s crisis has spawned. When I was living in Britain, between 1978 and 1988, Lord (then Norman) Lamont represented everything that I opposed. Even though I […]
Treason charges: What lurks behind the bizarre allegations
, 29/07/2015
The bizarre attempt to have me indicted me on… treason charges, allegedly for conspiring to push Greece out of the Eurozone, reflects something much broader.
Statement by Yanis Varoufakis on the FinMin's Plan B Working Group & the parallel payment system
, 27/07/2015
Statement by the Office of Yanis Varoufakis, former Minister of Finance, Member of Parliament, Hellenic Republic During the Greek government’s negotiations with the Eurogroup, Minister Varoufakis oversaw a Working Group with a remit to prepare contingency plans against the creditors’ efforts to undermine the Greek government and in view of forces at work within the […]
Professor James K. Galbraith's statement on the Ministry of Finance Working Group convened by former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis
, 27/07/2015
(scroll down for the Greek language version) I spent five months from early February through early July in close association with the Greek Finance Minister, Yanis Varoufakis, and was part of the Working Group that did contingency planning for potential attempts to asphyxiate the Greek government, including aggressive moves to force the country out of […]