Negotiations between Greece and its creditors have put finance ministers and policy makers at a loss for words, but they\u2019ve found a go-to crutch to fill the awkward silences \u2014 \u201ctaking stock,\u201d a rhetorical place-holder that takes up air time but doesn\u2019t mean much. Sort of like the actual progress in the negotiations thus far.<\/p>\n
A few days ago, Dutch Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem made his way to the podium in European Council\u2019s Justus Lipsius building to a closed-door meeting of eurozone finance ministers for waiting reporters: \u201cAfter our stock taking on Greece, we had a broad discussion on euroarea economic issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The same words came again a few minutes later. \u00a0\u201cWe really need to have an agreement on what has to be done to complete this program,\u201d Dijsselbloem said, \u201cThen we can take stock on what the fiscal indicators, macroeconomic indicators, what will they do.\u201d He was talking about whether or not Greece would have a third rescue program beyond its first and second bailouts worth a combined !245 billion, the last !7.2 billion of which has been under negotiation for months.<\/p>\n
How many times can stock be taken without anyone being able to explain precisely the inventory of the talks? In Brussels, there\u2019s no limit and seemingly no one who is prepared to take stock of how much longer to keep taking stock.<\/p>\n
In late April, before an informal gathering of finance ministers in Latvia, European Commission chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas, a Greek himself, said, \u201cThis meeting in Riga will be the next opportunity for minsters to take stock.\u201d When European Commissioner\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0described the subsequent\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0session in which Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis was berated for his country\u2019s lack of progress, he said simply, \u201cWe took stock of the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just last week at the European Business summit, Moscovici was on a panel with Varoufakis.\u00a0When it was his turn to speak, Moscovici said, \u201cYanis is brilliant in the European language. Of course we are closer. We learn to talk. I think we have a common language.\u201d Then the former French finance minister couldn\u2019t help himself: \u201cI really hope there will be progress on which we can take stock.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Negotiations between Greece and its creditors have put finance ministers and policy makers at a loss for words, but they\u2019ve found a go-to crutch to fill the awkward silences \u2014 \u201ctaking stock,\u201d a rhetorical place-holder that takes up air time … Continue reading