As you guys know, there's a lot of talk going on about Greece.
Main question: Shall "we" again help them by giving more money?
The country is in a large debt. One of the problems is that this debt is increasing constantly.
The country might be the most corrupt of all nations in Europe.
To get all the money back, is an illusion.
On TV I heard the following comparison which may be weird to do, but it's interesting to think about it:
Lots of money was invested in Eastern Germany. Reason: it was "part of" Germany.
Do we want to invest Greece, because it is part of Europe?
Here a few articles to show how hot these discussions can become in other European nations. This happens in the Netherlands:
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A war of words has broken out between populist anti-Islam and Eurosceptic MP Geert Wilders and the president of the Dutch central bank, Nout Wellink on the debt crisis in Greece.
by Jacqueline Nolan
Mr Wellink called Mr Wilders “a false prophet on economic matters” during a talkshow on national TV yesterday evening.
Earlier, the leader of the Freedom Party (PVV) lashed out against bailing out a debt-stricken Greece and said in De Telegraaf daily that Greece should quit the euro zone and return to the drachma. He added that it was totally senseless to help Greece out again.
Wilders doesn’t like his own
During the TV show, the Dutch central bank chief claimed that Mr Wilders “mustn’t like his own people too much if he’s calling on them not to give any more money to Greece”.
Mr Wellink, who is also a member of the European Central Bank Governing Council, said lengthening Greece’s debt maturities was not a solution to the problems. If anything, he argued, it could lead to a chain reaction affecting other European countries and banks.
Accountability Day
In a parliamentary debate today, Mr Wilders attacked the government on the whole Greece crisis, clashing with the chairman of the governing conservative VVD, Stef Blok. Mr Blok said his party was distancing itself from the Freedom Party’s stance.
The VVD is the largest party in a coalition government with the Christian Democrats. As they don't have a parliamentary majority, they rely on Mr Wilders' PVV support in parliament.
Today and yesterday are what’s known as “Accountability Days” in Dutch parliament. On the third Wednesday of May each year, the government defends its financial policy. Mr Wilders is using the focus on finances to rally support for his anti-Greece crusade.
Domino effect
Mr Blok warned that if Greece falls, Ireland and Portugal were likely to follow, which in turn would threaten Italy and Spain and lead to a collapse in European trade. The PVV chief dismissed the arguments of both Mr Blok and Mr Wellink as “scare-mongering”.
Dutch Finance Minister Jan Kees de Jager recently warned of the difficulty of maintaining public support for huge bailouts of troubled peripheral euro zone countries. The International Monetary Fund has sent out reassurances that it will only shore up Greece's finances if the country pledged to intensify reform efforts.
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Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and populist Freedom Party (PVV) leader Geert Wilders clashed in parliament today over more financial aid for Greece. Mr Wilders is against a further bailout, saying that Greece should quit the euro.
The minority coalition of the conservative VVD and Christian Democrats (CDA) relies on support from the PVV on a majority of issues. However, the Greek euro crisis has caused a major divide between the PVV and the coalition parties.
The PVV and the opposition Socialist Party are against more financial aid for Greece. However, the government’s position of not ruling out more aid has the support of Labour, the D66 democrats and Green Left - all opposition parties.
Electioneering
During today’s debate on the issue, Mr Rutte accused Mr Wilders of a lack of political leadership and denounced his stand against further aid for Greece as electioneering.
Mr Wilders in turn said the prime minister was “frittering away the interests of Dutch citizens with loans to Greece”. He said the money would never be paid back. Opposition parties challenged Mr Wilders to table a motion of no-confidence in the government, but he declined.
Mr Rutte claimed not to be impressed by Mr Wilders’ rhetoric. He taunted that “the PVV leader’s gale-force words” had become a well-known phenomenon, saying that they “didn’t shock people anymore”.
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