We can´t bail everyone out, we have our own problems here too.

By SandraV | March 18, 2010 8:05 AM

German want "to be able to exclude one of it members if it is necessary to avert a crisis"

They must have been taking notes from the USA where most people think about helping only themselves.
What type of a community is it if you are happy to sacrifice someone when there is a problem?
Communities help each other.
It sounds like they pulled Angela Merkel out of some time capsule. Or she read one of Bush's book and loved it.

By Darren | March 18, 2010 8:25 AM

Greece should execute every option available to get themselves out of their own mess. It's only been a few months since their troubles were made public. Too early to go belly up and expect a handout. Get all their "Tycoons" to come to the rescue...that's most likely where all their money is.

By AW | March 18, 2010 10:02 AM

Greece did not ask for a bail out. Greece asked for political support, and to be able to get loans in the same rates as Ireland for example or the bankrupt iceland e.g with 4-5% and not 6.25% (germany basis rate is 3.25%) from the international markets..It is not the the country cannot find money..but it finds money in an expensive way sthng that blows up all the measures taken recently to put the finances of the country in order. and moreover, i also believe that greece should go to IMF and short its own problems there..too much discussion for nothing.
sthng last...greece is going bankrupt according to all the post BUT recently bought 4 submarine worth of 2 billion euros from germans and 30 eurofighters (5 billion)... i just wonder why...

By kos | March 18, 2010 11:05 AM

libertè, ègalitè, fraternitè

unless you simply want to ignore the rulebook you signed when allowing the drachma into the EUROzone back at its inception.

The ECB (and thus central banks of all member nations) are duty bound to protect the euro and its member states in times of crisis, so if Greece is in trouble we all need to bail them out. It's for the common good, this should not be a question of cutting free members whose economies are deemed to be in trouble.

Having said that, Greece have been cooking the books so they need to come clean about the true state of their finances and sign up to tougher fiscal rules in the future.

We should see the crisis as a blessing in allowing the EU to get its finances into some sort of order and making for a better common future.

Funny though: the dutch saying we won't help the Greeks one bit but still claiming money back from poor old Iceland. Hypocrites!

By john | March 18, 2010 11:13 AM

What did the word 'union' (EU) mean? I don't remember now...

By zenplus | March 18, 2010 11:42 AM

It is not about bailing them out! What Greece wants is that they can get loans at the same rates as the rest of countries of EU. At the moment the 3 famous financial groups from UK that lend money to the entire world, have made the rates almost unbearable.
Besides, let's not forget that Greece pays 4% of their GDP for army spending (while the typical EU country spends just 1%) and is still mandatory that every greek man goes to serve to the army. This is not a choice they make!

If EU desides to guard their borders then Greeks can save 3% of their GDP to revive their economy all on their own. But of course that would not make the Germans happy, because then to whom would they sell their arms? 75% of the arms deals made in Greece are with the German army industry!

Perhaps we should all finally understand that when your neighbours' houses start burning, and they are your best clients it is not such a clever thing to do to just let them on their own.

This is a community as Darren said above. We can't only enjoy the benefits from EU and when one of our neighbours gets into trouble we let them alone.

And again... It is NOT about giving money to anyone! IT is finding political solutions to help them deal with the crisis that in the end of the road affects us as well.

By Alex | March 18, 2010 12:02 PM

The money that the dutch government spent to save a bunch of greedy speculators with the Icesave problem would have a lot more use with Greece. It's time for Europe to show that they are united in a block, not time to be xenophobe. If Merkel is saying this is exclusively for polithics' reason, not because she really believes it!

By PauloM | March 18, 2010 12:44 PM

The Dutch behave as if it's a "present" to Greece.

It's not a gift. It's a loan, they're gonna make money out of it!

By Georgios | March 18, 2010 1:36 PM

Amazing how the Dutch media and politics place a spin on this story..it sounds like yet more "foreigners are bad" state propaganda than any sensible attempt to solve the financial crisis - of which the Dutch banks along with RBS played a part in the first place.

By Andy | March 18, 2010 3:20 PM

Darren: Actually the US private charitable donations is the highest per capa in the world. That being said, you're right, they are also guilty of amassing private wealth that goes beyond reasonable need.

By Buzzer | March 18, 2010 3:42 PM

Why is eveverybody forgetting that the Greeks have been blatantly cooking the books for years? They have never met EU criteria in the first place but because of its geographical position everybody turned a blind eye. The present situation makes it imperative that Greece does not drown but the use of tax money should be avoided if at all possible.

By T. Wolfert | March 18, 2010 3:43 PM

This is not about it being a "loan" to be paid back... its about Greece's ability to pay it back and their need to bring their economic policies, i.e. fiscal spending, within Euro budgetary constraints. If the behaviour of what got Greece in this mess to begin with doesn't change than what's the point of lending them money as we will find ourselves in the same situation five or ten years down the road. This is a country that ranks high on the corruption scale and has a history of reckless spending.

By Buzzer | March 18, 2010 4:03 PM

if Greece was an accountant they would have been in court with multiple charges hanhing over them, BOOKS COOKED

By adhd | March 18, 2010 5:49 PM

Same old story: live now & pay-back later with interest!

By stevie | March 18, 2010 7:16 PM

Buzzer and the rest..you are correct that the number were not correct..but EU did know and they didnt do anything..and moreover if we take strictly the rules about 3% deficit..3/4 of the countries should be out..as this is well exceeded..even germany has 5% deficit this year..not to talk about ireland etc. for me best solution for greece would be the IMF since europeans cannot or dont want to support it..and the rest is too much talk about nothing.

By kos | March 18, 2010 9:52 PM

A nice editorial from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "The Greeks go onto the streets to protest against the increase of the pension age from 61 to 63. Does that mean that the Germans should in future extend the working age from 67 to 69, so that the Greeks can enjoy their ­retirement?"
Greece politicians used borrowed money to buy support of unions and special interest groups for the last three decades. Now we have to pay for that?
How about the good sport of avoiding taxes? Even the Greeks themselves are not so naive to thinks that lawyers and doctors make 20K per year as they declare to the tax office. What about civil servants with guaranteed life employment and more than generous pension? Yes, they have a small salary but this is the consequence of having so many of them that even the government does not know the exact number. How about taxi drivers that are on strike right now against the new rules forcing them to give a receipt and keep financial records?
Giving money to Greece without asking for some drastic changes in the way the country works will just prolong the agony.

By Peter | March 18, 2010 10:31 PM

Why had Greece bought armament? A good question for the NATO. Not for Greek people.
Why had Greece cooked the books? A good question for the last Greek conservative government. Not for Greek people.
Is EU an institution for European people? It is time to show it.

By zenplus | March 18, 2010 11:08 PM

Netherlands Economy:
Major trading partners (exports/imports)--EU (76%/56%).

Go on like that europe, with your extra right governments, go on more closed to your inside and blaim the others for the problems. You know that the dutch companies have destroy all the local industry in greece? why do you thing that the country is suffering? every single product in any bathroom in the south is from netherlands (unilevel) and everyone in greece is drinking amstel. the northern europe have economically colonize countries like greece, go on and destroy eu, it cannot be worst that it's now for greeks or spanish anyway we don't want to work as you believe.

By Themis | March 19, 2010 8:36 AM

Greece and Spain won't pay back. This was a calculated Risk, and a Lesson for the Banking System. What is happening in Greece, is a very well orchestrated show, to get granted €110bn aid, to avert meltdown. A new deception compared with the old Trojan Horse. The only thing Germans can do is:
REPOSSESS 170 Leopard 2AEX Battle Tanks from Greece, and 190 Leopard 2A6E Battle Tanks from Spain.
U.S.A must REPOSSESS 170 F-16 Jet Fighters from Greece, … the rest is gone with the wind …forever …
Greece must stop paying lucrative pensions with borrowed money, reform the free health care system, and cut down, 4 times the military budged.
Greece’s problem is too much debt. Greece has a budget deficit of 12.7% of GDP – meaning that the country is spending 12.7% more than the value of one year’s economic output.
Greece is no different to a serial credit card borrower who can’t pay back his loans. But just like a serial credit card borrower, as long as Greece keeps relying on borrowed money to fund itself, the problem won’t go away. It will just get worse.
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Greece-in-Default-on-U-214-Submarine-Order-05801/
But don't worry; the ECB, the Feds or both will print the money.
And all of us will share the pain, with our hard-earned money.
Bad is never good until worse happens.

By blue monkey | May 17, 2010 2:25 AM