And another Euro crisis with Greece’s possible Grexit
Syriza does not want Greece to leave the Eurozone, said Kostas Chrysogonos, member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Greek party Coalition of the Radical Left (Syriza), which could win the upcoming elections in Greece. No doubt that in case of success, the party will try to re-negotiate the debt of the country. A forced Grexit could cause the dissolution of the European Union, that is the Greek MEP’s warning.
In terms of key topics, 2015 starts with “Grexit”. This portemanteau word combining Greek euro exit was introduced shortly after that the same topic, a possible Greek exit of the Eurozone, was hotly debated four years ago.
It was an article in the German weekly magazine “Der Spiegel” that recently started the discussions ahead of the upcoming elections in Greece on January 25.
If the Greek party Syriza wins the elections, Berlin considers a “Grexit” being almost unavoidable, the Spiegel wrote this weekend.
Although the German government did not confirm this claim, the speculation provoked a Europe-wide discussion on the probability of reducing the number of members of the Eurozone.
Give Greece a chance
This is the wrong discussion, said Chrysogonos and like mentioned member of Syrizia, the Greek left wing party that stands in the spotlight of the debate. A Grexit does not correspond to Syriza´s vision, he claimed.
“No, we don´t want to exit the Eurozone or the Union, what we want is to ask our partners, the other member states, to give us space to breath inside the Eurozone and inside the European Union. All we say is give Greece a chances,” Chrysogonos said.
Although Syriza is not opting for an exit from the Eurozone, Chrysogonos does not exclude the possibility of the European Central Bank to force Greece out of Eurozone by stopping financial flows to the country.
The Greek MEP leaves no doubt that leaving the Eurozone would have dramatic consequences for the Greek people. But Grexit could also be the first step towards the dissolution of the European Union.
“It would be dramatic for the Union as well, because it would be the first time, when a member state exits not only the Eurozone, but I would say the Union as a whole, because if you are forced to exit the Eurozone, it has very little meaning to remain part of the Union since you would continue to be bound by the growth and stability pact, which could not be implemented in the case of Greece because of the excessive debt burden,” Chrysogonos explained.
But leaving the Eurozone is not an option foreseen in the European treaties, the European Commission stated earlier this week.
Interfering in the national election campaign
Speculating on a possible Grexit is a loss of time, declared Jyrki Katainen, Vice-president of the European Commission at a meeting of the Group of the Liberals in Brussels. He accused those who started the discussion of meddling in the national election campaign in Greece.
Campaigning for fellow parties is part of the political practice in Europe though.
Manfred Weber, the president of the centre-right group of the European Peoples’ Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, advised Greek voters via Twitter to choose a path “with or against Europe”, suggesting that a vote for the current Prime Minister Antonis Samaras, who is a member of the same political group as Weber, would be the right one for Europe.
Greek elections: It's up to #Greece to decide which path it follows: with or against Europe @EPPGroup #samaras
— Manfred Weber (@ManfredWeber) January 7, 2015
“Syriza wants more Europe” and the party does not stand for a return to national solutions, Chrysogonos underlined responding to such statements. In case of Syriza taking over the political power in Greece, it would fight for a change of policy though.
The restructuring of the countries accumulated debt is one of the main requests of the party. According to Chrysogonos, this would also be the only chance for creditors to get at least a part of their money back.
“The main problem is the magnitude of the Greek public debt. Greece has accumulated a public debt which was beyond the capacity of its economy to serve. This was not only the fault of the Greek elites, it was also the fault of the European elites, which accepted Greece as a member of the Eurozone in the first place, although Greece obviously did not fulfil the criteria laid down in the Maastricht treaty,” Chrysogonos pointed out.
Instead of speculating on the future of the currency in Greece, the debate should turn around the “the unsuccessful Greek reform programme that has proven to be economically and socially disastrous,” Chrysonos added.
According to him, this programme from the beginning had a utopian character, the contractual obligations forcing Greece “to transform a donkey to a racing horse.”
- Author: Danièle Weber, Euranet Plus News Agency