Anna Diamantopoulou Blog

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It is a great joy to be here today, at the Friedriech Ebert Stiftung Institute in Berlin, in my new function as Greek Minister of Development, Competitiveness and Shipping.

This crisis that we are all facing today constitutes an existential threat for both the Eurozone and the EU. By this point, it has been established that no easy political or economic fixes exist. Although the crisis emerged around 2009 and escalated in 2010, its roots go back to the formation of the common currency – and yesterday’s faulty institutional architecture continues to haunt the policy decisions of today.

As you well know, the Private Sector Involvement Agreement and the discussion on haircut of the Greek debt have been almost completed. The question now for Greece is the one exactly put on the title of this panel: jobs and growth. Austerity is necessary in difficult times in terms of eliminating wasteful spending and creating a leaner and more capable state --- however it can achieve few things without a clear plan for growth.

Dear Mr President,

In this critical moment where European’s edifice fabric may be tearing apart, the leaders' voice of Europeans should be heard. A public intervention by the committed Europeans, by those who had have served the vision of a united Europe united and guided by justice, discipline and solidarity, is of paramount importance for the future of Europe and for the prosperity of its people.

A declaration that reaffirms the vision and renews the mission for a united Europe,  proposing along the means  for reaching that goal, seems that it  can only come from those leaders without the anxiety  of re-election  and  no interest in playing  a  leading role in today's European  scenario of "Cramer vs. Cramer", nation against nation, north vs south, centre vs. periphery.

The catalytic role of President Delors in the creation of the single market with a social agenda and the preparation of the monetary union, along with your decisive contribution to the introduction of the euro and the largest ever enlargement of the Community,  justify and necessitate such an initiative.  

We have the duty to stop NOW this new version of a paneuropean war  flamed by the galloping progress of populism and nationalism,  with their distinct characteristics in each country. To stop the risk of dismantling the most noble and genuine accomplishment of Europe’s political history:  the union of national states through solely democratic procedures.

I am confident that politicians  who are committed to the European ideal,  today that anti-Europeanism spreads rapidly and may become the prevailing view,  are ready to mobilize and support such an initiative.  I feel compelled to reiterate the closing paragraph of my 2012 letter under the title "Europe SOS" :

“Let us move now by strengthening the voices of significant European leaders and dignitaries by creating a movement for the soul of Europe, “Europe SOS”, for the reversal of our course, for extinguishing ongoing threats, offering a common perspective and securing our collective future before it is too late.  
The time for initiative is NOW. Let us seize it.”
Sincerely,
Anna Diamantopoulou

Anna Diamantopoulou, 2012. Content is distributed with a CC A-NC-ND-Gr-3.0 licence

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