If Greece and its partners fail to reach an agreement on how to handle the country’s debt, the cost to its creditors will be in the region of “at least one trillion euros,” Greek MEP and European Parliament Vice-President Dimitris Papadimoulis said in an interview to the Athens-Macedonian News Agency on Monday.
“An agreement is a one-way street, not just for Greece but also for its creditors, because the cost of no agreement – for the creditors also – will be at least one trillion euros and a huge uncertainty that will lead not just the Eurozone but the global economy into uncharted waters,” he claimed.
By comparison, the financial “distance” separating the two sides regarding the policies that should be adopted over the next years are in the range of 1-2 billion euros, he said.
“If one compares this distance with one trillion euros, one can see why in the end we will be led to an agreement,” Papadimoulis added.
The main issue at this time is to support the effort made by the Greek government and Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to ensure a sustainable growth prospect for Greece’s economy and society, and to finally give Grexit scenarios a decent burial by providing a sustainable solution to the clearly unsustainable Greek public debt, the MEP said.
Commenting on proposals put forward by creditors, Papadimoulis said ideas such as increasing VAT on electricity by 10 percentage points or abolishing the EKAS benefit for low pensions are “extreme” and “unreasonable.” He clarified, however, that the institutions have not sent the Greek government any “take it or leave it” ultimatum and therefore it is possible for the two sides to achieve the convergence needed in order to arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement.
Should this be achieved and an agreement presented that is backed by the Greek government, Papadimoulis predicted that this will be supported by SYRIZA and the ruling majority in Parliament.
“The mandate given to the government from the Greek people is to achieve the best possible solution within the Eurozone and not a blind rift and return to the national currency,” he said.
(source: ana-mpa)
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