EU helped Greece? Greek MP doubts
More austerity measures and a new property tax are being outlined for Greeks, as their economy struggles to escape the clutches of debt. One Greek MP blames the EU for the country’s crisis, saying it was used by the Union for its own benefit.
The whole system of the eurozone was not well constructed, finds Simos Kedikoglou, and Greece was only the weakest link in this EU chain. The lawmaker attributes this to immaturity of the political system in the EU.The measures the EU undertook to cope with the Greek crisis “were not enough and not in the right timing,” says Kedikoglou.“I’m not sure the political leadership in of the EU today is at the point it should be. It’s the time for big decisions to be taken,” the MP suggests.The politicians in charge of the EU have given up too much power to the financial establishment, as Mr. Kedikoglou calls it. People never elected those financiers, never voted for them, but they have more power than the elected leaders, the lawmaker states. The Greek government has been making mistakes for the past years, admits Kedikoglou, but it is not the only reason for the current dire situation.“We could and should have done more in our good days,” he said. But now EU countries like Germany are benefiting on Greek problems and on “help” to this South European country, by lending money at high interest rates. The EU destroyed the Greek farmers’ households. And now the country cannot feed its own people and has to import meat, wheat, and even cooking oil. One of the main assets of the country’s economy has been destroyed, stresses the MP. Another reason of the recent gruesome situation in Greece hides in the way it entered the Union, believes Kedikoglou. “The decision to join [the] EU was a wise one. The way we entered the monetary union was the wrong one,” he says. The drachma–euro calculation was not correct, and nor was the transition to the new currency correct either. That led to hike in prices, the lawmaker explains. EU investments were made only to sell, but not to develop. The consumerism produced no benefits for the Greek economy, but made it dependent on the EU lenders, highlights Kedikoglou. Germany in particular has made much more money out of Greeks than Greece borrowed from it, he adds. “But we don’t want to sell out Greece,” says the MP.What the EU and the Central Bank are proposing is not working and will not solve problems, but rather will create even more problems, continues Kedikoglou. Raising taxes for the economy in deep recession is no cure, he insists.However, Greece has its own potential to survive the recent crisis and Mr. Kedikoglou believes in the perspectives of his country. He gave examples of the energy sector, tourism, real estate and high-technology – sectors that should drive the country to stability and prosperity. He also stressed that he sees Russia as a crucial partner in the future development of Greece.
