European politicians and bondholders have managed to reach a deal that should — at least temporarily — keep the global economy from descending into a spiral of doom. Under the terms of the agreement drafted this morning in Brussels, European banks will take a 50 percent “haircut” (that means loss) on Greek debt. The deal, which hinged on the crucial support of Germany and extra funds for Greece from the IMF, is supposed to reduce Greek debt to just (just!) 120 percent of its GDP within the next decade.
“The world is looking at Germany, whether we are strong enough to accept responsibility for the biggest crisis since World War II,” chancellor Angela Merkel told the German parliament, bringing up the ultimate German guilt trip and reminding them that they didn’t want to be three for three on the wrong side of major European crises in the last 100 years. “It would be irresponsible not to assume the risk.” German lawmakers responded by doubling the size of the Eurozone emergency bailout fund to $1.4 trillion. It’s still unclear where precisely the agreed-upon extra bailout money will come from, though. (Greece, reached for comment, said, money needs to come from somewhere?)
However, Eurozone leaders remain worried about growing fiscal problems in Greece’s Mediterranean neighbor. “Attention has focused on Italy because its government seems incapable of responding to the crisis, which has undermined the markets’ faith in Europe’s capacity to solve its problems,” reports the Times, citing Silvio Berlusconi’s weak showing at the summit. (He brought only a “letter of intent” for resolving the crisis, rather than a fleshed-out plan. On the plus side, he managed to avoid audibly voicing any further comments about Angela Merkel.) And as if on cue, Italian lawmakers broke out into a fistfight and literally grabbed one another by their throats during economic-reform discussions yesterday, which is certainly one way of responding to a crisis.
Europe Agrees to Basics of Plan to Resolve Euro Crisis [NYT]
