Agora
Posts in Europe
Between heaven and hell
What is the distance between heaven and hell? About 700 metres – I measured it on Monday. The morning after the referendum on the Eurogroup’s bailout proposal, I visited my local pharmacy, where my pharmacist was confident that the convincing No vote the night before would lead to good things for Greece. “Everything will be fine,” he said. I walked home and bumped into my neighbour. His view of the referendum was completely different. “We’re doomed now,” he told me.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Europe (281), Society (140), Greece (495)
An impossible choice
As this article was being written a few days ago, various European governments and international funding institutions were discussing the consequences of the expiration of Greece’s current financial assistance programme.
Contributor: Jens Bastian
Categories: Europe (281), Politics (385), Economy (328), Greece (495)
The Greeks deserved better than this
For some time it appeared that Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, or at least some of the people advising him, felt Greece had something to gain from being in a take-it-or-leave-it situation with lenders as the pressure would be on the other side. Right now, though, it doesn’t seem such a good position to be in.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Europe (281), Politics (385), Economy (328), Greece (495)
Tsipras needs to sign a deal, but which one?
There have been plenty of sensible people advising Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that he has to do a deal with the country’s lenders but few of them until now suggested he should sign the proposal put on the table by the institutions. Therein lies the problem for the SYRIZA leader: The risk of not agreeing with creditors carries so many potential dangers it is hardly worth considering but the option of agreeing to the lenders’ plan also has numerous pitfalls.
Contributor: Nick Malkoutzis
Categories: Europe (281), Politics (385), Economy (328), Greece (495)
Greek pensions laid bare
Greece’s pension system is taking centre stage again in the discussions with lenders. It should come as no surprise that even five years of programmes and repeated interventions have not managed to deal with the monster that was created after decades of mismanagement and a misled belief of entitlement.
Contributors: Manos Giakoumis, Yiannis Mouzakis
Categories: Europe (281), Economy (328), Greece (495)