Finance Minister
Our NO is a majestic, big YES to a democratic, rational Europe!
, 06/07/2015
On the 25th of January, dignity was restored to the people of Greece. In the five months that intervened since then, we became the first government that dared raise its voice, speaking on behalf of the people, saying NO to the damaging irrationality of our extend-and-pretend ‘Bailout Program’. We
GREECE: Still raging against the dying of the light
, 05/07/2015
In 1967 foreign powers, in cahoots with local stooges, used the tanks to overthrow Greek democracy. In 2015 foreign powers, in cahoots with local stooges, used the banks to overthrow the Greek government. In 1967 democracy’s defenders were in disarray and the prisons, the death squads, and the torturers were working overtime. In 2015 none […]
'We've made hope return to Europe' – in conversation with Paul Mason on Ch4
, 04/07/2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmqnYHmRg48IMF backs (ever so peculiarly) the SYRIZA government’s debt assessment
, 03/07/2015
Debt relief ought to be at the centre of negotiations over a New Deal for Greece. That has been our government’s mantra from 26th of January, our first day on the job. Exactly five months later, on 26th of June, the IMF has conceded the point (as evidenced earlier today by the NYT) – on […]
Only the No Can Save the Euro – by James K. Galbraith
, 03/07/2015
For the original source, at Prospect Magazine, click here
Nine Myths About the Greek Crisis – by James K. Galbraith
, 03/07/2015
Click here for the original Politico site, or read on…
Why a NO vote in the Referendum is a Yes for a proud Greece in a Decent Europe – Talking with Phillip Adams, on LNL ABC Radio National
, 02/07/2015
Late Night Live has been a daily companion of mine since 1989. Phillip Adams, its presenter, is someone I consider a friend (he, in fact, interviewed me in 1991 on the… Greek crisis!). In this (yesterday’s) program he added a touch at the very end of the interview that made me (almost) to break down. Thanks […]
Why we recommend a NO in the referendum – in 6 short bullet points
, 01/07/2015
Negotiations have stalled because Greece’s creditors (a) refused to reduce our un-payable public debt and (b) insisted that it should be repaid ‘parametrically’ by the weakest members of our society, their children and their grandchildren The IMF, the United States’ government, many other governments around the globe, and most independent economists believe — along with […]
As it happened – Yanis Varoufakis’ intervention during the 27th June 2015 Eurogroup Meeting
, 28/06/2015
The Eurogroup Meeting of 27th June 2015 will not go down as a proud moment in Europe’s history. Ministers turned down the Greek government’s request that the Greek people should be granted a single week during which to deliver a Yes or No answer to the institutions’ proposals – proposals crucial for Greece’s future in the Eurozone. The very […]
Greece, Germany and the Eurozone – Keynote at the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung, Berlin 8th June 2015
, 09/06/2015
CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO Thank you for inviting me. Thank you for being here. Thank you for the warm welcome. Above all thank you for the opportunity to build bridges, to pave common ground, to bring harmony in the face of blatant attempts to sow the seeds of discord between peoples whose historic duty […]
A Speech of Hope for Greece – a Project Syndicate Op-Ed
, 07/06/2015
ATHENS – On September 6, 1946 US Secretary of State James F. Byrnes traveled to Stuttgart to deliver his historic “Speech of Hope.” Byrnes’ address marked America’s post-war change of heart vis-à-vis Germany and gave a fallen nation a chance to imagine recovery, growth, and a return to normalcy. Seven decades later, it is my […]
In conversation with John Nash Jnr on Ideal Money
, 02/06/2015
A conversation I was privileged to have with John Nash in June 2000 is posted below as a small tribute to a great man. (The conversation was motivated by a talk John Nash Jr gave in Athens in 2000 entitled IDEAL MONEY. The text of the conversation below was published in 2001 as a chapter in […]
The truth about Riga
, 24/05/2015
It was the 24th of April. The Eurogroup meeting taking place that day in Latvia was of great importance to Greece. It was the last Eurogroup meeting prior to the deadline (30th April) that we had collectively decided upon (back in the 20th February Eurogroup meeting) for an agreement on the set of reforms that […]
Die Zeit's Q&A on Dr Wolfgang Schäuble
, 20/05/2015
Die Zeit, the German good quality newspaper, asked me three questions on Dr Schäuble. I obliged them with the answers that follow. (Predictably, some news outlets went out of their way to distort them. Such is life these days…)
A Blueprint for Greece’s Recovery within a Consolidating Europe – Brussels Keynote 7th May 2015
, 15/05/2015
On 7th May 2015 I was invited to deliver a lunchtime keynote speech at the European Business Summit 2015 in Brussels. Belgium’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister introduced the talk. Click here for the accompanying powerpoint slides. The text of the talk follows below
A New Deal for Greece – a Project Syndicate Op-Ed
, 24/04/2015
For the Project Syndicate page click here. ATHENS – Three months of negotiations between the Greek government and our European and international partners have brought about much convergence on the steps needed to overcome years of economic crisis and to bring about sustained recovery in Greece. But they have not yet produced a deal. Why? […]
Talking to my daughter about the economy – Preface to the German edition
, 23/04/2015
Last summer (an aeon it seems before my recent sojourn into politics&government) I spent ten days writing a short book in Greek on economics. The idea was to write it as if it were addressed to my young daughter, so as to keep complex ideas simple and to test my capacity to home in on […]
Varoufakis and Tsakalotos on the Eurozone institutions and bank bailouts – INET-OECD April 9th 2015
, 13/04/2015
Two SYRIZA ministers for the price of one! Here you can find audio of our talks at the INET-OECD 9th April conference on the subject of ‘Eurozone institutions during the bank bailout negotiations’. Yanis Varoufakis’ talk below Euclid Tsakalotos talk below
Presenting an agenda for Europe at AMBROSETTI (Lake Como, 14th March 2015)
, 15/03/2015
Dear All, Ministerial duties have impeded my blogging of late. I am now breaking the silence since I have just given a talk that combines my previous work with my current endeavours. Here is the text of the talk I gave this morning at the Ambrosetti Conference on the theme of ‘An Agenda for Europe’. Long time […]
On BBC tv NEWSNIGHT
, 31/01/2015
As a fan of the BBC, I must say I was appalled by the depths of inaccuracy in the reporting underpinning this interview (not to mention the presenter’s considerable rudeness). Still, and despite the cold wind on that balcony, it was fun!
A question of respect (or lack thereof)… – the Greek veto over Russia that never was
, 29/01/2015
On the first day in our ministries, the power of the media to distort hit me again. The world’s press was full of reports on how the SYRIZA government’s first foreign policy ‘move’ was to veto fresh sanctions on Russia. Now, I am not qualified to speak on foreign affairs but, nonetheless, I must share […]
Talking to Phillip Adams, on the ABC’s LNL
, 29/01/2015
On my first day on the ‘job’, as Greece’s Finance Minister, I took a few minutes off to talk to my favourite voice and intellect on the wireless.
Finance Ministry slows blogging down but ends it not
, 27/01/2015
The time to put up or shut up has, I have been told, arrived. My plan is to defy such advice. To continue blogging here even though it is normally considered irresponsible for a Finance Minister to indulge in such crass forms of communication. Naturally, my blog posts will become more infrequent and shorter. But […]