Greece President in an Uproar ( note he posed with soldiers ) as the EU , Germany / Finland / Netherlands once again move the goalposts as to what Greece must do to secure the bailout !

German comments rile Greek president  President Karolos Papoulias at the Defense Ministry on Wednesday. Relations between Germany and Greece, which have been strained since the start of the economic crisis in 2009, appeared to reach a new low on Wednesday amid the exchange of barbed comments between the two countries. President Karolos Papoulias was uncharacteristically blunt in his response to repeated criticism about the Greek economy and politics. He accused German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble of making insulting comments, including one that suggested Greece should not hold elections now because its politicians are incapable of keeping to the terms of a new bailout. “We all have a duty to work hard to get through this crisis,” he said during a visit to the Defense Ministry. “I will not accept Mr Schaeuble insulting my country. I don’t accept this as a Greek. “Who is Mr Schauble to insult Greece? Who are the Dutch? Who are the Finns? We always had the pride to defend not only our own freedom, not only our own country, but the freedom of Europe.” The comment that appears to have sparked Papoulias’s response was a suggestion by Schaeuble that Greece should follow Italy’s example by forming a technocratic government. He also cast aspersions about the record of Greek politicians in the past. “After [the technocrats have completed their work] the democratic process can resume with the effects that we have all seen over the last few decades.” Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti warned in a speech at the European Parliament that the crisis was creating divisions in Europe. “The eurozone crisis has given rise to too many resentments and recreated too many stereotypes, it has divided Europe into central countries and peripheral ones; all these categories must be decisively rejected,” he said. and more game playing from the Troika and EU set forth below .... http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/debt-crisis-live/9083194/Debt-crisis-and-Greek-talks-live.html 20.33 We are hearing rumours that Germany, the Netherlands andFinland want guarantees from small Greek political parties that the bail-out measures will be kept in place, or for the elections in April to be called off. 20.22 A eurozone government source has reportedly told Dow Jones that both a troika presence and an escrow account is needed in Greecebefore a bail-out can proceed. An escrow account would ensure Greecegives priority to debt servicing. Bruno Waterfield, our man in Brussels: 20.09 Greece's Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos says his country has met all prior actions with the Euro Group and all the issues on 2012s €325m fiscal gap have been decided. He adds that those arguing for a Greek euro exit do a disservice, and hopes for a plan on Monday, including debt swap. However, he says some technical issues are still to be resolved. Venizelos says implementation of bail-out plan depends on the country's two main parties. 20.02 The full statement for Jean-Claude Juncker reads: As announced yesterday, I convened the Eurogroup to a conference call today in order to discuss the outstanding issues regarding the second adjustment programme for Greece. Substantial further progress has been made since yesterday. "First, we received the strong assurances provided by the leaders of the two coalition parties in Greece's government. Second, the Troika finalized and presented its analysis on the sustainability of Greece's public debt. Third, further technical work between Greece and the Troika has led to the identification of the required additional consolidation measures of €325m and the establishment of a detailed list of prior actions together with a timeline for their implementation. "Further considerations are necessary regarding the specific mechanisms to strengthen the surveillance of programme implementation and to ensure that priority is given to debt servicing. This will strengthen debt sustainability further. "On the basis of the elements that are currently on the table and the above-mentioned additional input, I am confident that the Eurogroup will be able to take all the necessary decisions on Monday 20 February. and finally..... EFSF delay hampers PSI completion  Official offer postponed for at least another weekBy Sotiris Nikas The successive postponements to the approval of the conditions for the Greek debt swap have brought about changes to the already tight timetable set for the process of the private sector involvement (PSI) plan. The main problem is that the eurozone countries have not yet ratified the increase in the guarantees of the European Financial Stability Facility as agreed last October. The original plan had been for the approval to come on February 7 or 8 and the official proposal to be made last Monday. Now the official proposal will be made next week at the earliest, and without the ratification of the EFSF changes by the member states’ parliaments. The increase in the EFSF guarantees is of vital significance for the PSI implementation, as the facility will supply a total of 93.7 billion euros in guarantees for the debt swap to proceed smoothly. It is clear that the delay in the approval of these guarantees is increasing fears of a possible failure in the process, with investment bank Lazard warning that if the EFSF has not collected the funds in time there will be a three-week period of dangerous uncertainty for bondholders. With the position of the European Central Bank still unclear regarding its possible participation in the haircut, either directly or indirectly, the terms of the agreement with private bondholders have been set, with the target being to relieve Greece of some 100 billion euros of debt. It is safe to say that the new bonds will have a 3 percent interest rate if they mature by 2020, a 3.75 percent coupon if they mature after 2020 and an average rate for their whole period of 3.4-3.5 percent; they will have a 30-year maturity period and will contain a growth clause. That clause will provide that if Greece has two consecutive years of growth, with the second year posting a GDP increase of more than 2 percent, the new bonds’ interest rate will increase by 1 percent. French lender BNP Paribas has already proceeded to a 75 percent haircut on the Greek bonds in its portfolio, suffering losses of 567 million euros from the haircut in the last quarter of 2011.