The pot is calling the kettle black.

By bobsocks | February 11, 2010 3:44 PM

Sure! when the Dutch companies was selling all of it's products to the Greek market in double prices than in Netherlands getting rid of the fact that the Greek authorities are not so organized to fine them it was fine, right? When the Dutch companies was flooding the market with there amazing budgets and convincing the people with the ads that unilevel projects and Amstel and Dutch milk are so much better than the greek ones, resulting with closing down all the local companies witch it was impossible to compete with that monsters was very nice as well. Off course Greeks made mistakes, but eu should be together not only in the good times but in the bad times as well, otherwise just say that to the people to see your exports going drastically down without the southern people witch is statistically the best consumers.

By Themis | February 11, 2010 3:57 PM

Greece should not have been allowed to join the Euro in the first place; they weren't ready. Further to that point... the other Euro founding members knew this but let them join anyway - I guess they were hoping against hope. So, who's to blame? Now they want to bail them out -- Greece is still not ready. They have a shadow economy that is rife with corruption, deception and incompetence, afflictions that are built into their collective psyche... bailing them out would be throwing good money to bad.
Let them sort this out for themselves with help only in the form of counseling.
Sure it will cause some problems with our economy and and with the Euro but it would be only temporary.

By Buzzer | February 11, 2010 4:35 PM

wisely said Themis!

By Paulina | February 11, 2010 4:37 PM

Prior to the introduction of the Euro, economic experts pointed out that the Greek economy was not sufficiently stable to join the Eurozone. The Euro-fanatics (all politicians rather than economists) who wished to ensure an optimum number of Euro-based economies, artificially re-inflated the Greek economy via the ECB.

Any idiot could see that this would lead to problems with the currency at a later date. The later date has arrived, just at a point when the ECB is, thanks to the economic melt-down, in no position to prop up the Greek economy. However, if they don't, confidence in the Euro will collapse with the concomitant collapse of several other national economies in the zone...

Sell your Euros now and buy shares in a bank ;o) (Or just spend them!)

By Bill | February 11, 2010 4:45 PM

"Iceland" - fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

By Janka | February 11, 2010 6:30 PM

Very naif approach. The problems are common as well as the cost. The Greeks are paying for the collapse of the new economy in which they didn't participate nor they had profit from it. Can the Americans, the British or the Dutch say the same? They are also paying for the lack of statistic regulations (and others) within the EU and the foolish tactics of the Commission which made Greece the black sheep of eurozone and triggered a speculative attack against Greece and the Euro itself. Now the European leaders are trying to make up for THEIR mistakes. Nobody is gonna pay anyway but the Greeks themselves.

By K.B. | February 11, 2010 8:31 PM

That's a very naif approach. The structural problems of Greece (high debt) were well known years ago. Yet Greece has managed to maintain high development rates in the last decade and a high demand for european goods.
Now Greece is paying for the collapse of the "new economy" in which it didn't participate nor had any profit of it. It is also paying (besides its own mistakes) for the lack of regulations within the EU and the foolish tactics of the Commission to make Greece the black sheep of eurozone which finally triggered a speculative attack against Greece and the euro.
So the european leaders are trying to make up for THEIR mistakes. But don't worry dear Dutch taxpayer; nobody is gonna pay but the Greeks themselves.

By K.B. | February 11, 2010 9:00 PM

Enough with the fairytale that Greece shouldn't get into Euro or lied to get into it. Greece entered EUROzone totally legally. The conservative Greek government of 2004-2009 tried to accuse the previous government for that and created that rumour. They made research, they found nothing wrong and eventually they admitted themselves that it was a stupid decision to doubt the previous government and only lead to giving the country a bad reputation.

The problems that Greece has today are also "miracle" of the conservative Greek government of 2004-2009. They received an economy of 4.5% progress and they managed to drop it to 0% before the crisis! They lied about the deficit to EU and the Greek people.

So yes, the Greeks have to pay. But also EU has to pay! Because Balkenende, Merkel, Sarkozy, Berluscony and the rest of the Christian-Democrat gang all knew what the Greek government was doing all these 5.5 years. But they covered their conservative buddie (prime minister back then) Karamanlis.

So yes, now they have to pay. Weather they will take those money from tax (Dutch/German/French) tax payers it's their own problem.

Greece doesn't ask for money anyway. What does Greece ask:

If Greece had its own currency it could have de-evaluate it and get out of this crisis. But now Greece have Euro, so it's not possible.

The deficit will fall with the harsh measures and cutbacks that were announced and everyones agrees on that.

But right now Greece can't borrow cheap money. Greece borrows money with double the interest of the rest EU countries! No matter how it cuts back on expenses, the high interest of those loans will eventually choke the Greek economy.

So EU has to find a way that Greece gets access to cheap loans. So what Greece is proposing is that the EU is borrowing on behalf of all the EU countries. This way, yes, Germany will borrow a little bit more expensive than what they borrow now, but Greece and the rest economies of the South will borrow money cheapper. That will complete the monetary union (EUROzone), cause now apparently it's incomplete.

According to the French Minister of Finances. This is not about Greece. This is about an attack of 6 specific financial centres of American and Brittish interests against EURO.

They use now the weakest link, Greece. But soon they will turn to Spain and Portugal and maybe even Italy.

By Georgios | March 16, 2010 10:16 AM

Till European Central Bank is the only institution -into EU- authorized to issue public debt titles, monetary union (EUROzone) will be incomplete, and weak to deal with speculator's attacks.

By zenplus | March 19, 2010 1:47 PM