Greece

To Euro or not to Euro?

CREA Amsterdam
Nieuwe Achtergracht 170
Oct 22 20:00-22:00
 
About 15 years ago, in February 1997, a manifest by 70 Dutch economists warned about the untenable structural flaws in the neoliberal design of the Economic and Monetary Union (see http://www.sdnl.nl/emu-1.htm). The manifest particularly criticized the arbitrary nature of the chosen fiscal rules, requiring repeated rounds of austerity measures across Europe, which would result in a gradual dismantling of welfare states, wage stagnation, a sharp rise
in unemployment and growing inequality. Politicians, journalists and academics alike ignored these warnings - enthralled by the belief that the large disparities between member economies would somehow miraculously dissolve once the common currency area had been established. Questions about the profoundly undemocratic nature of the European Central Bank and its mandate to keep inflation low at all costs were seldom raised.

Meanwhile, the manifest’s forecasts have become an inconvenient truth. The harsh austerity and privatization policies that accompany the recurring ‘rescue’ packages of the EU and the IMF and the interventions of the ECB seem to only aggravate the crisis. Countries of the periphery such as Greece, Portugal and Spain have entered an ever deeper recession which in terms of its socioeconomic costs only compares to the Great Depression in the 1930s and to periods of war.

This Real World Economics session addresses the important question of whether and how these peripheral countries will survive in the Eurozone. The issue of leaving the euro has troubled social movements of southern European countries over the past two years. At the same time, political elites categorically seem to refute the possibility of a ‘Grexit’ or ‘Spexit’. Invited guest speakers are Marica Frangakis (Nicos Poulantzas Institute), Geert Reuten (UvA, Senator of the SP) and Dimitris Pavlopoulos (VU Amsterdam).
 
English
Date: 
Monday, October 22, 2012
Type: 
Event
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Topic: 
Democratisation
Democratisation
Democratisation
Democratisation
Programmes: 
Democratising Europe
New Politics
Regions: 

Syriza shines a light

Topic: 
EU Economics Governance
Democratisation
Democratisation
English
Programmes: 
Public Alternatives
Democratising Europe
New Politics
Article type: 
Article
Body: 

Like a swan moving forward with relaxed confidence while paddling furiously beneath the surface, Syriza, the radical left coalition that could become the next government of Greece, is facing enormous challenges calmly but with intensified activity.In the palatial setting of the Greek parliament, Alexis Tsipras, the president of the radical left coalition Syriza’s parliamentary group, opens the... Read more

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Greece could begin again

Topic: 
Debt
Democratisation
Democratisation
English
Programmes: 
Democratising Europe
New Politics
Article type: 
Article
Body: 

Greece is approaching the climax of its crisis, and its choices will influence the course of Europe for years. Although Greece represents only 2% of the European Union’s GDP, the impact of those choices will be wide.The Greek crisis is fundamentally the result of its membership of the eurozone. Greece is paying the price for a belief in the ancient fallacy that possessing “hard” money puts a... Read more

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Buying back the public, 136 euros at a time

Topic: 
Democratisation
Democratisation
Water Justice
English
Programmes: 
Democratising Europe
New Politics
Subtitle: 
Addressing the Modern Greek Tragedy
Article type: 
Article
Body: 

That was the uncompromising statement of Alex Kastrinakis, an independent Greek film maker who participated at the Alternative World Water Forum (www.fame2012.org) from March 14 to 17 in Marseilles, France. Together with Georgios Archontopoulos, the secretary general of the workers trade union of the Water Supply and Sewage Public Company of Thessaloniki (EYATH), the two shared the on-going... Read more

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The choice for Greece: a post-modern coup or a new kind of society?

Topic: 
Democratisation
Democratisation
Democratisation
Democratisation
English
Programmes: 
Democratising Europe
New Politics
Subtitle: 
Interview with Nasos Iliopoulos, Secretary of the Central Council of the Youth of Synaspismos
Article type: 
Article
Body: 

In an unassuming Athens office, just a couple of streets from the ancient Agora where democracy first announced itself to the world, sits Nasos Iliopoulos, Secretary of Neolaia Synaspismou, the youth wing of the Greek political party Synaspismos.... Read more

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Breaking with fear in Greece

Topic: 
Debt
EU Economics Governance
Democratisation
Democratisation
English
Programmes: 
Democratising Europe
New Politics
Article type: 
Article
Body: 

'The streets of Athens erupted with some of the worst rioting and political violence seen in the country in years’. ‘Rioting Greeks torched buildings and looted dozens of shops as they battled police in central Athens to protest harsh austerity measures’. These were some of the headlines of the global corporate media about last Sunday’s demonstrations in Greece, often accompanied by photos of... Read more

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For its own sake, Greece needs to declare default

Topic: 
Debt
English
Programmes: 
Trade & Investment
Article type: 
Article
Body: 

Negotiations to reduce Greek debt have been suspended after no agreement could be reached last week. At some point in the near future, Greece seems certain to default on its obligations. But the drama surrounding the talks in Athens, Berlin and Paris shows that there will be nothing co-operative about a Greek default. It is a ruthless contest dominated by the so-called troika: the European... Read more

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Will the Mercozy deal save Greece and the Euro?

Topic: 
Debt
Democratisation
Democratisation
English
Programmes: 
Democratising Europe
New Politics
Article type: 
Multi-media
Body: 

Transcript of discussion. Please refer to recording for actual words Fiona Dove:... Read more

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