‘Euroleaks’: Former Greek finance minister LEAKS recordings of secretive Eurogroup talks in fight for ‘democratization of the EU’

The former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis, has released a cache of audio files, secretly recorded in 2015 during the bailout talks with the Eurogroup – a powerful group of eurozone’s finance chiefs.

The recordings and their transcripts were released by Varoufakis on the website of his ‘pan-European’ DiEM25 party on Saturday. The files –dubbed ‘Euroleaks’– were recorded between February and July 2015, when cash-strapped Athens was entangled in painful talks with its creditors.

In 2015, Varoufakis was the chief negotiator for then-ruling Syriza party, dealing with the Eurogroup and those behind it – the so-called ‘troika.’ It comprises the three main lenders of the eurozone nations – the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

While the Eurogroup is de-jure an informal group, it is actually a powerful decision-making institute that lacks accountability and transparency – and does not keep any records. The main goal in releasing the recordings is to shed light on its secretive activities, Varoufakis said in a video announcing the Euroleaks.

The Eurogroup’s three does not keep minutes, the European Union Council is still shrouded in total opacity. It’s about time we change that.

The lenders took a tough, ‘take it or leave it’ stance on Greece, effectively presenting it with an ultimatum. At the same time, they blamed Greek negotiators for stalled talks – and no records were available to prove them wrong.

“You will hear the [then-]president of the Eurogroup [Jeroen Dijsselbloem] and other ministers warn me that if I dare table written proposals within the Eurogroup meetings, that would be the end of the negotiations,” Varoufakis said. “At the very same time they were leaking to the press that I was arriving at Eurogroup meetings without any proposals.”

Apart from bringing into the limelight the “intransparent action by an unelected group of politicians who influence all our lives,” the leaks also serve another purpose. The putting in the public domain of the secret recordings is aimed at fighting attempts by the incumbent Greek government to “weaponize fake news,” produced by the Eurogroup back in 2015 to justify new austerity measures for the country, Varoufakis said.

https://www.rt.com/news/483140-euroleaks-varoufakis-troika-recordings/

Israel to Use Anti-Terror Tech in Fight Against Coronavirus - Netanyahu

Israeli will use counter-terrorism technology to detect coronavirus patients and those who skip mandatory quarantine, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday.

All foreigners entering the country are required to self-isolate for 14 days. All schools, restaurants, cafes, gyms and most of businesses have been shut in a bit to contain the spread of the virus.

"We will track patients, including with the help of digital technology that we have been using in the battle against terrorism," Netanyahu said in a televised address.

He said the government had tasked the Justice Ministry with preparing a legal framework that would allow the use of such technology in light of the spreading COVID-19 disease, which has evolved into a worldwide pandemic.

On Saturday, the country registered 50 new cases overnight, taking the total to 193 infections.

Amid the pandemic, Israeli Health Ministry introduced a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all international arrivals and limited the entry to tourists with pre-arranged accommodation where they can implement the quarantine. Additionally, all public gatherings of more than 100 people, including religious events, have been suspended and schools closed.

Earlier this week, the World Health Organization declared the spread of the COVID-19 a pandemic. The number of coronavirus cases worldwide has surpassed 155,000, with over 5,800 fatalities.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/202003141078569677-israel-to-use-anti-terror-tech-in-fight-against-coronavirus—netanyahu/

‘Nationalize factories & industries!’ De Blasio kicks panic up to 11 calling coronavirus ‘war-like situation’

New York City Mayor and failed presidential candidate Bill de Blasio jumped on MSNBC to compare the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic to war and claim “nationalization” would fix the US’ “Mar-a-Lago attitude” toward the disease.

“Here’s the reality, this is a war-like situation,” De Blasio told MSNBC’s Joy Reid on Saturday morning when criticizing the federal government’s response to the coronavirus. The mayor claims he has been “pleading for weeks” for coronavirus test kits to be more available to citizens.

“We’re in a war-time scenario with a Mar-a-Lago attitude being used by the federal government,” he continued.

De Blasio’s answer to the “laid-back” attitude of the government? More government.

“This is a case for a nationalization, literally … for crucial factories and industries that could produce the medical supplies to prepare this country for what we need,” he said.

The mayor believes companies that produce items like hand sanitizer should be producing “24/7” and the government should be distributing the supplies to areas they determine need them the most.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the first death in his state from the coronavirus on Saturday morning. The 82-year-old woman entered a New York City hospital on March 3 and suffered from emphysema.

De Blasio appeared to blame the death and future potential deaths in New York City on a lack of testing from the federal government.

“We’re going to lose people here … and there are some, I’m certain, who could have been saved if the testing was here from the beginning.”

President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus on Friday. In a Saturday press conference, he revealed he has been tested himself and is waiting on the results. Vice President Mike Pence said more information about testing locations in affected states will be available on Sunday after the national task force, which he heads, has time to do a “progress report.”

https://www.rt.com/usa/483147-de-blasio-coronavirus-death-nationalization/

>>8417204

EU Leaks

https://euroleaks.diem25.org/leaks/

#10776

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>>8417204, >>8417253 ‘Euroleaks’: Former Greek finance minister LEAKS recordings of secretive Eurogroup talks in fight for ‘democratization of the EU’

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