It ends, as it often ends in Europe: with a mediocre compromise. After eight long years, Greece will finally leave rescue program this August. That is what eurozone finance ministers decided Thursday night and made some concessions to country. In return, y will continue to monitor government’s budget in Ans a little longer and more rigorously over next few years. What remains: The Greek government is now able to form a reasonably self-governing policy, and financial stability should be secured in years to come. So was this eternal salvation a success?
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This can only be answered by looking at not only current outcome, but also way in which past eight years have happened, both with Greece and with Europe. It began with 2009 banking crisis widening to a debt crisis in states, which became a threat to n still young common currency: The collapse of euro was threatened. But why actually? In short, because Europe’s banks had granted too many loans to over-indebted countries such as Greece. If se loans had burst, Europe’s entire banking system could have collapsed. Millions of savers, especially in Germany and France, would have lost ir money.
It was time when EU, so portly so far, suddenly had to convene special summits. In meantime, this is almost a normality – this weekend, too, re will be no regular disputes in Brussels, this time about migration. At that time, however, a political culture emerged in Europe, which arose in financial crisis and continues to this day in refugee crisis: The national interest is enacted. Our own nation is going ahead, even if that threatens future of Europe in long run.
Many will now argue that Europe has saved Greece from bankruptcy. One was in solidarity and generous with supposedly waste-addicted Greeks, who had now maneuvered mselves into this hopeless situation. But what one would like to forget after years of euro crisis: in case of bankruptcy, two sides are equally involved, creditors and debtors. Everyone has to bear his burden, after all, a believer always takes a risk when he lends money to someone. Therefore, debtor also pays interest on a loan. This is how thousands logic of money economy works.
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This logic, however, was at least initially overridden in case of Greece, because country had to bear burden of imminent bankruptcy almost exclusively itself. Instead of taking responsibility for German, French and or European banks and participating in losses of this de facto insolvency, eurozone countries have lost Greek debt to banks through ir rescue fund. Only in year 2012 n a good part of debt was actually deleted, banks and hedge funds had to write off this money. However, this does not change very much from fact that Germany and or eurozone countries, with rescue of Greece, have initially averted damage from mselves.
For Greece, re was only one strategy: long and hard to save. However, this has not changed much at level of debt until today, not even by recent decision of Euro finance ministers on Thursday. The default for Greece is still: to create Black zero. The state must take more than it issues. The principle is, of course, right, only way to this goal was bought in Greece at a very high price: economy has lost a quarter of its capacity in crisis, as much as in any or country in world at peacetime.
This enormous depression has left its mark, quite visible in Society of Greece, but also in Europe as a whole. The long and severe crisis has shaken confidence in joint project, weakened internal cohesion and increased mistrust among mselves. The continent has not really been able to recover from this, before next challenge arose with refugee crisis.
It is pointless to keep remembering it, but in end, re is no way around it: Europe project can only work if everyone thinks less of mselves and a little more about Europe.
