Syriza does not want Greece to leave the eurozone, according to Kostas Chrysogonos, member of the European Parliament (MEP) for left-wing Greek party which has a good chance of winning the upcoming snap elections in Greece. There’s no doubt that in case of success the party will try to renegotiate the country’s debt. But Chrysogonos has warned that a forced Grexit could cause the dissolution of the European Union.
In terms of key topics, 2015 starts with Grexit. This portmanteau word combining Greek euro and exit was introduced shortly after that same topic, a possible Greek exit of the eurozone, was hotly debated four years ago.
German weekly magazine Der Spiegel recently restarted the discussion ahead of Greece’s upcoming parliamentary election on January 25.
In an article published last weekend, the newsmagazine said that if the Greek party Syriza, the Coalition of the Radical Left, wins the election a Grexit would almost be unavoidable, in the view of Berlin.
Although the German government did not confirm this claim, the speculation has provoked a Europe-wide discussion on the probability of reducing the number of eurozone members.
Give Greece a chance
This is the wrong discussion, said Chrysogonos, who claimed that a Grexit does not correspond to Syriza’s vision.
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“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 breathe inside the eurozone and inside the European Union. All we say is give Greece a chance,” Chrysogonos said.
Although Syriza is not opting for an exit from the eurozone, Chrysogonos did not exclude the possibility that the European Central Bank could force Greece out of eurozone by stopping financial aid to the country.
The Greek MEP leaves no doubt that leaving the eurozone would have dramatic consequences for the Greek people. But, he pointed out, Grexit could also be the first step toward the dissolution of the European Union.
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“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,” he said. “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 Stability and Growth Pact, which could not be implemented in the case of Greece because of the excessive debt burden.”
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, according to Jyrki Katainen, vice president of the European Commission. At a meeting of the Group of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) in Brussels, he accused those who started the discussion of meddling in Greece’s national election campaign.
But campaigning for fellow parties is part of political practice in Europe.
Manfred Weber, the president of the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP) in the European Parliament, advised Greek voters on Wednesday (January 7) via Twitter to choose a path “with or against Europe,” suggesting that a vote for current Prime Minister Antonis Samaras – a member of the EPP – would be the right one for Europe.
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“Syriza wants more Europe” and the party does not stand for a return to national solutions, Chrysogonos said in response to such statements. Should Syriza take over the political power in Greece, he nonetheless said the party would fight for a change of policy.
The restructuring of the country’s accumulated debt is one of Syriza’s main requests. According to Chrysogonos, this would also be the only chance for creditors to get at least a part of their money back.
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“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,” he pointed out.
Instead of speculating on the future of the currency in Greece, the debate should revolve around the “the unsuccessful Greek reform programme that has proven to be economically and socially disastrous,” Chrysogonos added.
According to him, this programme had a utopian slant from the beginning, with contractual obligations forcing Greece “to transform a donkey into a racehorse.”
- Author: Danièle Weber, Euranet Plus News Agency
