Anna Diamantopoulou Blog

Switch to desktop Register Login

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.

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

Top Desktop version