Debt restructuring the only way to save Ireland and the EU

EUROCRATS and politicians still conspire to ensure that the truth is obscured about our future debt destiny.

Crisis management continues to be the order of the day within the EU hierarchy. The outcome of last week’s summit means the Rubicon has been crossed.

Greece’s sovereign debt default is inescapable. The so-called voluntary burden sharing on bondholders is being enforced by repudiating redemption dates (by up to 30 years) with obligatory debt swaps. Investors and banks have to suck up losses of €20.6 billion. Despite provision of a second bailout of €109bn, total Greek state will decline by 24%. The laboratory rat in Athens has provided a case precedent of agreed orderly multilateral debt restructuring. Let’s have some of that.