希臘耍賴到底 表明不可能償債

Alexis Tsipras, the Greek prime minister, has warned Angela Merkel that it will be “impossible” for Athens to service debt obligations due in the coming weeks if the EU fails to distribute any short-term financial assistance to the country.

希臘總理亞歷克西斯•齊普拉斯(Alexis Tsipras)警告安格拉•默克爾(Angela Merkel)，如果歐盟不能向該國發放短期經濟援助，雅典方面將“不可能”履行未來幾周到期的償債義務。

The warning, contained in a letter sent by Mr Tsipras to the German chancellor and obtained by the Financial Times, comes amid mounting concerns Athens will struggle to make pension and wage payments at the end of this month and could run out of cash before the end of April.

齊普拉斯在寫給德國總理的一封信中發出這一警告；英國《金融時報》看到了這封信。目前各方越來越擔心，雅典方面本月底支付養老金和工資將有難度，並可能在4月底之前耗盡現金。

The letter, dated March 15, came just before Ms Merkel agreed to meet Mr Tsipras on the sidelines of an EU summit last Thursday and invited him for a one-on-one session in Berlin, scheduled for this evening.

這封信的日期爲3月15日，之後不久，默克爾同意上週四在歐盟峯會間隙會晤齊普拉斯，並邀請他今晚在柏林進行一對一會談。

In the letter, Mr Tsipras warns that his government will be forced to choose between paying off loans, owed primarily to the International Monetary Fund, or continue social spending. He blames European Central Bank limits on Greece’s ability to issue short-term debt as well as eurozone bailout authorities’ refusal to disburse any aid before Athens adopts a new round of economic reforms.

齊普拉斯在信中警告，他的政府將被迫在還清貸款（主要是欠國際貨幣基金組織(IMF)的貸款）和維持社會支出之間作出選擇。他指責歐洲央行(ECB)限制希臘發行短期債務的能力，還指責歐元區紓困當局拒絕在雅典方面推行新一輪經濟改革之前發放任何援助。

“Given that Greece has no access to money markets, and also in view of the ‘spikes’ in our debt repayment obligations during the spring and summer . . . it ought to be clear that the ECB’s special restrictions when combined with disbursement delays would make it impossible for any government to service its debt,” Mr Tsipras wrote.

“鑑於希臘無法進入貨幣市場，鑑於我國將在春季和夏季迎來償債義務的短期激增……應當十分明顯的是，歐洲央行的特別限制加上援助發放延遲，將使任何政府都不可能償還債務，”齊普拉斯寫道。

He said servicing the debts would lead to a “sharp deterioration in the already depressed Greek social economy — a prospect that I will not countenance”.

他表示，償還這些債務會導致“本已低迷的希臘社會經濟急劇惡化——這一前景是我不堪設想的”。

“With this letter, I am urging you not to allow a small cash flow issue, and a certain ‘institutional inertia’, to not turn into a large problem for Greece and for Europe,” he wrote.

“藉助這封信，我敦促您不要讓一個小的現金流問題，以及某種‘制度慣性’，變成希臘乃至歐洲的一個大問題，”他寫道。

Mr Tsipras was rebuffed in efforts to secure quick financing from either the ECB or eurozone lenders at Thursday’s Brussels meeting with Ms Merkel and a small group of other EU leaders — including French President François Hollande and ECB chief Mario Draghi.

齊普拉斯上週四在布魯塞爾與默克爾和其他幾個歐盟領導人——包括法國總統弗朗索瓦•奧朗德(François Hollande)和歐洲央行行長馬里奧•德拉吉(Mario Draghi)開會時，曾試圖從歐洲央行或歐元區貸款機構爭取到快速融資，但他的努力遭到挫敗。

In an interview, Luis de Guindos, the Spanish finance minister, said his eurozone counterparts would not sign off on any new bailout funding until a full set of approved reforms was passed and implemented by Greek authorities, a process that could take months.

西班牙財長路易斯•德金多斯(Luis de Guindos)在接受採訪時表示，在希臘當局通過和實施一整套經批准的改革之前（這個過程可能需要幾個月時間），他的歐元區同行不會放行任何新的紓困資金。

Mr Tsipras’s five-page letter is particularly critical of the ECB, which he said has forbidden Greek banks from holding more short-term government debt than they did when they requested an extension of the current bail out last month — a cap that has prevented Athens from relying on Treasury bills to fill its urgent cash needs, since Greek banks have become nearly the only buyer of such debt.

齊普拉斯的5頁信函對歐洲央行的批評格外尖銳，他稱，在希臘各銀行上月請求延長當前紓困時，歐洲央行禁止它們增持短期政府債券——這一上限使雅典方面不能依靠國債來滿足緊迫現金需求，原因是該國的銀行已近乎成爲此類債務的唯一買家。