The end of Greece as a sovereign state
Our Future in Hasty Writing
John Bogiopoulos reads the new memorandum and notes the incredible improvisations of the document will seal our future
Yannis Bogiopoulos
The Greek Parliament has been repeatedly filed bills for voting that were half-processed or “photographic acts”, some of them badly translated and quoting suspicious numbers. But what happened with this new MoU is unprecedented. The House by a margin of just a few hours, from morning until Saturday afternoon opening of the Economic Affairs Committee, was asked to study 24 multiple-page documents, some of them in English. This fact alone is a degradation of the Republic. Our MPs are not even allowed the time to study what they have to put their signatures on. Never mind the fact that many were taken aside by … exogenous factors, such as the speech of their respective party president. Thus, the “crash” this time reached the speed of light.
The main text is the “Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies.” This is a scary concoction. Not only does it hack down jobs, salaries and pensions in the name of an unspecified “competitiveness”, as if they mean that rooms to let are the one and the same with German industries, it is also outrageously miswritten, badly translated, deficient in basic numbers and tragicomic to tears.
If one were to read this document he wouldn’t believe that the debate on “saving the country” is serious. Not, at least, when it is based on such texts. So I started to tweet my hasty observations, finding that there was a lack of information. In time, the Press Project asked me to publish them with a preface. Here’s what I wrote (with the rough drawing and charging each of the moment of discovery):
2:03 pm It is a shame for Democracy to ask the Members in 1 day just to understand and to vote all http://bit.ly/x5fgkZ
2:27 pm Documents filed in the House is so complete that includes things like [X] billion!
2:30 pm “… An application for financial assistance to Member States of the euro area totaling € [XX] billion” official document in the House!
2:31 pm Regardless of the dispute or not to the Memorandum, every Greek should be disgusted with this humiliation of our Republic
3:21 pm On page 6 of the Memorandum: slaughter in social benefits and social assistance programs amounting to 1% of GDP. That’s 2.5 billion!
3:28 pm P.15 “the total cost of recapitalization and consolidation of banks in the estimated amount of € [XX] billion”!!!
3:38 pm “[If] it is not possible to achieve a new collective agreement after three months of trying, the fee will revert to the basic salary”.
3:42 pm “Elimination of unilateral recourse to arbitration, allowing applications for consent to arbitration only if both parties agree to it.”
3:46 pm “This will bring the framework of the minimum wage in Greece is comparable states,” What they fail to mention is by what criteria they are comparable!
3:51 pm “The slow response of inflation to the current crisis …” The Memorandum displays a sense of humor!
3:57 pm For offshore, cartels, uninsured work, etc. I find nothing in the Memorandum. Is it possible they forgot to include these?
4:00 pm p.23: “We predict a gap of approximately € [XXX] billion …” The MEPs will vote a bill that has empty slots. Empty slots!
4:01 pm Sel23 “covering a reservoir of public debt of € [xxx] billion” Well, at least there’s going to be a reservoir.
4:02 pm “Our program believes that it will draw € [XX] billion” Sounds legit.
4:03 pm “A reduction in interest cost by € [XX] to [ZZ] billion)” Here the equation has two unknown factors. Applied mathematics. 
4:05 pm “Our partners [...] have committed additional resources to the support [...] of Greece, totaling € [XXX] billion” Well, that is obvious.
4:13 pm P.7: In addition to the new Memorandum of Understanding, all measures not applied since the medium-term act should also be implemented. That means additional auxiliary cuts!
4:31 pm P.2 “…significantly reduce the state’s influence in the economy” by imposing lower wages : (
4:34 pm The word “unemployment” is referred only twice in the new Memorandum, one of which as a blackmail!
4:35 pm Sel18 “Freezing the ‘maturation’ clause provided by law and / or collective agreements [...] until the unemployment rate falls below 10%”
4:40 pm On page 19 we learn that our competitors are Portugal and Central and Southeast Europe (known to have an Aegean, an Ionian, olive oil, etc.)
4:47 pm Sel3 “The external balance [...] However, as domestic demand continues to decline …” You will improve it!
5:10 pm Sel5 “extended coverage for drugs covered by their participation” Bad translation. This means greater fees to the employees.
5:12 pm In other words. You will get less salary (if you take one) AND pay more for drugs.
5:34 pm P.7 “Our intention is to keep the relative tax unburdened from indirect taxes” In our case, these indirect taxes are the strictest, most unjustly distributed and highest in the EU
5:39 pm Pg 7, paragraph 10 The translation from English jumbled 325 million to 325 billion but no fear! They will vote that, too!
5:45 pm And of course the translation tears of pearls like “we will issue secondary legislation”
5:50 pm P.8 “By the end of September we will prepare a comprehensive plan against corruption” No hurry, let’s cut salaries first: P
6:02 pm p.9 “We plan to close a total of 200 local tax offices underutilized” Mykonos’, for example?
6:07 pm I know that what I write may be seen as trolling, but I’ll just keep going. Whoever does not care for my trolling, unfollow 
)
6:17 pm “By the end of March 2012 at the headquarters GSTC …” What’s this new hell? Do I have to do additional research now?
6:20 pm GCTC is the General Secretary of Tax and Customs Affairs. I bet the translator did not know that, either!!
6:22 pm The translation of the Memorandum is incredible. It ignores a central service of the Greek state and indeed a crucial one for the revenue!
6:31 pm p.9 “would pass from the ministerial to the administrative level [...] control [...] business” Is the Tax Office a business?
6:37 pm Mind that: Horrible grammar, misspellings and simple mistakes in the translation of an official bill overlook.
6:40 pm “The government undertakes to fully implement the tax code” Do we need a Memorandum for that too or are they just laughing at us?
6:57 pm Paragraphs in Greek go from article 11 to article 12, then back to 11 (!) and then to article 13: P I am confused!
6:59 pm So then, the English article 14 is the Greek article 13. Chaos!
7:04 pm Some formulations are incredibly grumpy. I lost 10 minutes trying to figure out a sentence.
7:07 pm “we will issue a circular in Q1 2012″ I bet the translator is getting bored! Q = quarter
7:08 pm “for regulating the calendar” Are we reverting back to the Julian calendar?
7:15 pm “Spending controls with the commitment and architecture that accompanies them will help us to prevent the units” Decimals?
7:27 pm “It would also establish penalties consistently (when required)” )
7:53 pm “The law will establish the Council of ELSTAT as an advisory office” The President is the sole and ultimate ruler.
7:55 pm It’s called “monarchy”, a practice mandated by the Memorandum on the ELSTAT. Democratic …
7:59 pm p.10 “We are making preliminary steps to ensure early gains” And I thought the Tax Office was about collecting revenue!
8:26 pm “Banks which make sustainable plans for capital increase will have the opportunity to receive public support,” That explains their haste…
8:28 pm I remember that last month the banks raised billions from the government by giving preference shares
8:30 pm “The voting rights of EFSF for holding common shares will be strictly limited to specific strategic decisions”!
8:31 pm Memorandum: Public money in banks in return for common shares, but with limited voting
8:32 pm “Voting rights acquired by the EFSF will not be transferred or sold to another entity related to the state”!
8:33 pm “We are given incentives to private investors to buy shares to keep the EFSF.”
8:37 pm EFSF: Greek Financial Stability
8:44 pm “I find [...] legal obstacles to a flexible employment contracts management t in bank resolution” OTOE, do you hear?
8:52 pm “The amounts will be disbursed from the program will be deposited in a special account exclusively reserved by the EFSF.”
9:00 pm Memorandum: The EFSF will take care of the banking sector to “perform well and remain profitable” Profitable! By force!
9:01 pm they put the state in charge to make sure that our banks turn up a profit!
9:02 pm is this what our MPs will vote tomorrow? Than the banking sector will be “profitable” on the responsibility of the state????
9:06 pm Page 14 for those who doubt. I will quote all the words
9:07 pm p.14: “In this capacity, his mandate is to ensure that banks are under the management of the operating >>>>
9:07 pm >>>> on a commercial basis and restored to part of the Greek financial sector that is working well and is profitable “!!
9:16 pm EFSF members appointed by the Minister of Finance, but approved by the Eurogroup
9:32 pm “We will work with the authorities of the European Union to receive state aid clearance for the lottery”! That’s true! We are the lottery….
Translated by ReinForm
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