Greece is turning out to be a rather peculiar Eurozone country. It participates in the Eurozone, but does not enjoy any of the advantages, nor any of the special policies for tackling the crisis. It is not participating in Mario Draghi’s infamous QE program; Greece has been excluded because it is bound by the bailout program and has not yet fulfilled the obligations that are linked to the review.
As you may read elsewhere in the newspaper, not a single cent has reached out country from the 1 trillion euro bond repo.
The funding program is meant to mitigate the effects of the recession in European economies, however our country has been in a recession for seven years and does not have the right to participate.
At the same time Greece has the highest interest rates, nearly 10%, when out Eurozone countries have interest rates of about 1%, in many cases the lowest in their modern history.
Furthermore, our economy is facing a liquidity crisis, loans are rarely offered to businesses and they tend to be expensive, while depositors cannot use their savings due to the capital controls, which are still in place and there is no provision to lift this heavy measure in the near future.
There is already a black market for cash emerging, since the euros kept in the banks are worth less and everything suggests that Greece is in a fishbowl, in a state of quarantine, in the lobby of a quasi Grexit.
Clearly this peculiar captivity offends our country and tests the strength of the Greek people.
If it does not end soon and lasts long, it will make our country’s place in the eurozone precarious and ultimately impossible to defend.
The government, which is playing its usual delaying game, will be greatly responsible if the political and social circumstances for an exit emerge or if a wave of extreme anti-European sentiments prevail in the country.
The meetings with European and pictures of receiving foreign leaders are nice and fine, but the interests of the country and its people must come first. It seems that the Prime Minister has put them aside on a shelf, for the sake of public relations!
Antonis Karakousis
Originally published in the Sunday print edition
