EU Parliament Econ.Commitee Chair Bowles to EuroFora: No 1999-2001 GoldmanSachs-Greece Swaps on 2011

EU must take into account the Lessons of the Past, as the infamous 1998-2001 Goldman Sachs - Greece swaps, and prevent any similar undermining of €uroZone in Future, by introducing adequate Transparency Rules in its new Financial Regulations on Swaps, stressed in substance EU Parliament's Economic Committee's President, Brittish MEP Sharon Bowles, of the Governing coalition Party of Liberals, in reply to an "EuroFora" question on the occasion of MEPs' adoption of New Rules on Short Selling and Credit Default Swaps this week in Strasbourg.

She was obviously referring to the the notorious 1998-2001 manouvers which had masked Greece's real Debt, so that it could enter earlier than normal in €uroZone, i.e. before reforming its Public sector, full of PASOK's counter-productive cushy job holders and/or abusive political lackeys massively hired by former "Socialist" Governments of the 1980ies, in exchange of Tuerkey's controversial and unpopular EU bid, (both decided at the 12/1999 EU Summit in Helsinki : See earlier "EuroFora"s analysis of the 1998-2001 events and their current, 2001+ consequences for €urozone).
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- "EuroFora" had asked "a Question, "on the sidelines of the main debate" on today's draft texts adopted by EU Parliament's plenary in Strasbourg, during a Press Conference with 3 MEPs who had worked for their preparation : 

- "Last year in Brussels, there was a Hearing, as you know, on the infamous "Goldman Sachs" swaps concerning what happened in the Early Entry of Greece in €uroZone in 1999-2000, before some Reforms which were overdue".

- "Now, (i.e. on 2011),  this Debate has (started to) be with many Politicians of various EU Countries, (f.ex. Helmut Kohl, Angie Merkel, Nicolas Sarkozy, Gerhard Schroeder, Joshka Fischer, Costas Simites, Jacques Santer, etc),  it's (going) up in the Media".

- "This concerns particularly Mr. Goebbels, (former EU Rapporteur on Greece, Socialist MEP from Luxembourg), because he knows it quite well, but, also, obviously, all of you (3), mainly Mrs Bowles, as President of the (EU Parliament's Economic) Commision", "EuroFora" had noted from the outset

- As "I remember very well, at that moment", (i.e. on 1999-2001), "'Mr. Goebbels had a good Experience, (since) he was Rapporteur of the (EU) Parliament (on Greece's enty into €urozone), and we (i.e. "EuroFora"s co-Founder, then publishing also for Greek Press Agency MPA, currently fusioned with the No 1 Agency ANA), made many Good News (together) at those times", "EuroFora" reminded smiling..
 
 - "The Question is now, that we can all guess better what really happened then, as you know best from all, there is a growing Controversy" :

- "For instance, former EU Commission's President Jacques Santer, who was before these events, (i.e.) up to the First Half of 1999, has recently told us ("EuroFora") that he had adviced, at that moment, to Wait, a little bit, before Greece enters inside (the €uroZone) in order to make, first, some Reforms, concerning mainly the Public Sector, and to enter afterwards, as all other Countries", we revealed. (See relevant "EuroFora"s NewsReport published earlier).

- "But, there are also other Interpretations, and other views". (F.ex. Schroeder's : that he "didn't knew". Fischer's and Simites' : that eveything was then OK. "EuroFora"s : that it was a Politico-Financial deal, of the kind : " you let Turkey prepare its entry into the EU, and we let you enter €urozone", etc).

=> Therefore, "EuroFora" asked the competent MEPs : - "What is your appraisal today ? Do you think that the (infamous 1998-2001) Swaps of Goldman Sachs really played a role in order to keep the EU out of the real situation", (f.ex. by hidding on 1999-2000 at least a part of the Debt notoriously provoked by 1980ies' massive PASOk Governments' clientelism and nepotism, hiring thousands of cushy job holders, political lackeys etc.), or it was, rather, the EuroStat scandal" (about False Data, notoriously revealed later on), "or what ever else might have happened then, which provoked the problem that we have now ?", we wondered.
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 - "So, we have finally found the Culprit of the Crisis : - "It's me !", joked Robert Goebbels in reply to "EuroFora"s question, which had reminded his role as former EU Parliament's Rapporteur on Greece's €urozone entry (See supra).

- "I was, indeed, Rapporteur of the EU Parliament, for Greece joining the €urozone, and, at that time, (1999-2000) I did my Report with a Positive Opinion of the ECB, of the EU Commission (chaired by Prodi), of the OECD, etc, and, if you read by Report, it ends up by inviting the Greek Authorities to continue the Reform process", (mainly of the Public Sector : See supra, which, in fact, were never made until today...).

- "But, I think that this is not the place now, to discuss all the things which happened in Greece, or didn't happen", Goebbels estimated.

- >>> "I'm one of those who are convinced that the €urozone will Solve this Crisis, and, in fact, we are not in front a Crisis of the €uro (currency), but of a Debt Crisis in some Countries : F.ex., if you look at the external value of the €uro, it's still Better than the external value of the (U.S.) Dollar", the experienced MEP from Luxembourg observed.

+  Later Goebbels told "EuroFora" that, in his view, the real situation "wasn't so bad, when Greece entered  €uroZone", so that "it wouldn't have really be so necessary to disguise" the real facts. It's "afterwards, that the next Governments (in Greece), particularly the Conservative Government", he went on to claim, "which disguised the situation with Goldman Sachs and may be others", .... after realizing that he had committed a blunder, since there wasn't any Conservative Government in Greece before ...2004; i.e. long after Goldman Sachs 1998-2001 manouver !

And, Denying a "Turkey in the EU, for Greece in €urozone" deal then, the Socialist MEP from Luxembourg prefered to stress .. Half of it :

- "At that period, concerns were about not gaving yet enough €uroZone Member Countries", he observed instead, (i.e. without necessarily denying the larger deal)...
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+ => Later Goebbels told "EuroFora" that, in his view, the real situation "wasn't so bad, when Greece entered  €uroZone", so that "it wouldn't have really be so necessary to disguise" the real facts. It's "afterwards, that the next Governments (in Greece), particularly the Conservative Government", he went on to claim, "which disguised the situation with Goldman Sachs and may be others", ... after realizing that he had committed a blunder, since there wasn't any Conservative Government in Greece before.. 2004 !Denying a "Turkey in the EU, for Greece in €urozone" deal then, the Socialist MEP from Luxembourg prefered to stress .. Half of it :

    - "At that period, concerns were about not having yet enough €uroZone Member Countries", he observed instead, (i.e. without necessarily denying the larger deal, which obviously may contain his more particular point)...

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+ However, speaking afterwards to "EuroFora" on the same issue, another Experienced long-time MEP from Luxembourg, 3 times former Minister and Head of the national Liberal party, Charles Goerens preferred to attribute the 1998-2001 problems about disguising the real situation in Greece to notoriously inaccurate, even false data reportedly given then by a "EuroStat" scandal revealed years later..  - "It's indeniable that something irregular happened then" on this issue, he agreed.

Nevertheless, without going as far as to eventually endorse the "Turkey EU Candidate - in exchange of Greece in €uroZone" Politico-Financial Deal, Goerens added that, in the case of Belgium, f.ex., a Debt representing  120% of GDP, which reportedly existed even in Brussels' case, was later absorbed, as he claimed, (perhaps because necesssary Reforms were made in Belgium, at least afterwards, but not yet in Greece, and/or because the problem was comparatively smaller from the start)..
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- "There is a little weight, come on",  reacted however the President of EU Parliament's Economic Committee, Brittish MEP Sharon Bowles, from the Governing coalition party of the Liberals, in reply to "EuroFora"s main question.

- "You spoke about the Goldman Sachs' swaps, .. and that we (EU) didn't know enough about any Transactions there were in existence, and this is one of the things that has been dealt with, through this Legislation", she reminded.

- "But, an interesting point, if you look at the different Texts put forward here, is that the (EU) Commission and Council texts, exempt Central Banks from all such checks ! Whereas the (EU) Parliament's text does not exempt Central Banks and Sovereigns (i.e. States' loans) from Reporting the Derivatives' transaction, nor does it exempt them from having to provide adequate Collateralisation, on the basis that, nowadays, some Sovereigns might cause as much concern as may be  some Banks would".

- "This is something that we (EU) have to address in the context of this (2011, new) Legislation" : 

>>> "The (EU) Parliament's text is, if you like, taking into account the Lessons of the Past, and the Goldman Sachs - Greece swaps" of 1998-2001, she concluded.

+ Speaking later to "EuroFora", Chairwoman Bowles stressed that "it's, therefore, important to convince EU Commission and Council that EU Parliament's stance on this key point is well founded, both as far as it concerns "Reporting", as well as the "Collateralisation" about Swaps on Sovereigns (States') debts, which is even more efficient, as she pointed out.
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Pascal Canfin, EU Parliament's Rapporteur on Short Selling and credit default Swaps, added a different point :

    - "Another critical observation, which doesn't directly refer to your question, is that the current text (adopted by EU Parliament), bears on the Buying of Swaps. But I think that there is, currently, a big hole, both in Europe and in the USA, about the Emmission of Swaps. Today, one may edit a Swap, i.e. provide Insurance against a Risk, while having only a few Capital of his own. F.ex., during the crisis in Ireland, last year, those who gave Swaps on the Risks were Hedge Funds, and were selling this protection to EU Banks which detained Greek Debt. In other words, this resulted into an Absurd situation, where the Less Capitalized of all  : the Hedge Funds, were giving assurancies to Banks against States' banqueroute !", he denounced.

- "Who could imagine, that, if such a Risk ever occured, a simple Hedge Funds  could pay the Insurance ? By the way, the best example of a case where the Hedge Funds should have been activated was the Lehman Brothers' banqueroute, when those who had given insurance against Lehman Brothers' banqueroute, became bankrupt himself", and were saved just thanks to USA's Federal Treasury. This is total nonsense !", EU Parliament's Rapporteur criticized.

- "Here, today we dealt with Buying Swaps. But i think that we must push (EU) Commission to deal also with the Emission and Selling of Swaps. I feel that (in EU Parliament), a Majority large enough to support such an initiative, can exist", he concluded.
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    Meanwhile, even the President of the biggest Group of MEPs in EU Parliament, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP, Joseph Daul of France, speaking earlier to Strasbourg Journalists, including "EuroFora", added also his voice in the growing list of those Top EU Politicians who have recently started to denounce the Errors done buy some of their predecessors on 1999-2001 :

    -  "I'm always moved when I receive  in my office particularly. Greek Citizens whose small Retirement benefits are being reduced, small Salaries are being cut, because we have not done what we ought to do" in the Past. (i.e. some EU Heads of State/Government on 1999-2001 : Comp. "EuroFora"s analysis on the Politico-Financial "Deal" concerning Turkey's controversial and unpopular EU bid, in exchange of Greece's earlier than normal entry in €urozone, even before making necessary Reforms, mainly on too many counter-productive cushy-job holders, abusive political lackey's etc., hired by PASOK's nepotism since he 1980ies).  Several "Politicians have all a Responsibility", Daul stressed.

    Obviously he could add, among the various Victims, also several Young or Old People who were hindered to even have the slightest "Retirement Benefit" or "Salary", and/or had to suffer also more Serious violations of their elementary Human Rights, by manifold consequences of the 1980-2010 abuses by some notoriously corrupted and/or even criminal agents of former "PASOK" Governments' agents, condemned to still wait for Justice to be done..  

(Comp. 2 relevant "EuroFora"s NewsReport, including Daul's Replies to our Questions).