George Soros: Greece Needs Comprehensive Debt Relief To Recover Fast

Spiegel Online.

George Soros On Greece

The legendary investor pointed out the fact that Greece will “never pay back its debt,” and the country was able to achieve a primary surplus amid difficulties. Last month, Greece reported that its primary surplus in the first eight months of the year was €1.5 billion instead of an estimated €2.5 billion budget deficit.

Panagiotis Petrakis, economy professor at the University of Athens commented that the situation in Greece is under control with the primary surplus, but it does not point to a vigorous economy. Greece Prime Minister Antonio Samaras is confident that

his government will return to growth next year after enduring a severe recession for six years.

During the interview, Soros said investors will return to Greece and the country would be able to recover rapidly if the troika [International Monetary Fund (IMF), European Central Bank (ECB), and the European Commission (EC)] forgo the repayment of debt as long as it meets the conditions imposed by the official sector. “I can testify from personal experience that investors would flock to Greece once the debt overhang is removed,” added Soros.
http://www.valuewalk.com/2013/10/george-soros-on-greece-debt/

GEORGE SOROS: Greece Is A Victim Of Its Creditors' Misconceptions And Taboos

Legendary investor George Soros previously said the euro crisis is over, while Europe's nightmare is getting worse.
This is because of many "misconceptions and taboos that sustain it."
In a new Project Syndicate column, Soros writes that Greece has been a  victim of such taboos and misconceptions.

"Greece, too, is a victim of its creditors’ misconceptions and taboos. Everyone knows that it can never pay back its debt, most of which is held by the official sector: the ECB, eurozone member states, or the International Monetary Fund. After undergoing a lot of pain and suffering, Greece is close to posting a primary budget surplus. If the official sector could forgo repayment as long as Greece meets the conditions imposed by the Troika (the ECB, the European Commission, and the IMF), private capital would return and the economy could recover rapidly.

"I can testify from personal experience that investors would flock to Greece once the debt overhang was removed. But the official sector cannot write down its debt, because that would violate a number of taboos, particularly for the ECB."

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/soros-greece-is-a-victim-of-taboos-2013-10#ixzz2h7DqxKU7

George Soros Talking the Euro to Death

First it was the “Death Spiral,” now it is the “Death Circle.”

George Soros told a Greek TV station last night that the government in Athens is facing the prospect of both recession and falling budget revenue if yields on Greek debt remain this high.
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Soros Says Greece Should Pay Concessionary Rate on Loans

April 9 (Bloomberg) -- Billionaire investor George Soros talks with Bloomberg's Francine Lacqua about the prospect of Greece calling for emergency loans to fund its budget deficit.

Soros Says Euro Will Face Bigger Tests Than Greece

George Soros
The Financial Times
February 22, 2010

Otmar Issing, one of the fathers of the euro, correctly states the principle on which the single currency was founded. As he wrote in the FT last week, the euro was meant to be a monetary union but not a political one. Participating states established a common central bank but refused to surrender the right to tax their citizens to a common authority. This principle was enshrined in the Maastricht treaty and has since been rigorously interpreted by the German constitutional court. The euro was a unique and unusual construction whose viability is now being tested.

The construction is patently flawed. A fully fledged currency requires both a central bank and a Treasury. The Treasury need not be used to tax citizens on an everyday basis but it needs to be available in times of crisis. When the financial system is in danger of collapsing, the central bank can provide liquidity, but only a Treasury can deal with problems of solvency. This is a well-known fact that should have been clear to everyone involved in the creation of the euro. Mr Issing admits that he was among those who believed that “starting monetary union without having established a political union was putting the cart before the horse”.

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