In Cannes today, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou met for two and a half hours with Germany's Angela Merkel and Nicolai Sarkozy of France. Then Papandreou went home and told his parliament he was calling off his controversial referendum on the massive bailout designed to keep Greece part of the European Union. But that's only added to the uncertainty facing the G-20 Summit meeting in Cannes. Nobody knows what Papandreou might do next. Even if there's still support for the bailout, it's unclear where $1.5 trillion will come from, especially with US influence on the wane. Is the EU a safe bet for China? What will China demand in exchange? Is the effort to demonstrate European economic stability now in a shambles?
Greek Brinksmanship, the European Union and the G-20 Summit
Credits
Guests:
- Doug Saunders - Globe and Mail
- Nick Malkoutzis - Macropolis - @NickMalkoutzis
- Karsten Voigt - German Council of Foreign Relations
- Colin Bradford - Brookings Institution and Center for International Governance and Innovation
- Matthew Elliott - Taxpayers Alliance