tough enough. The concern that Athens will fail to meet its targets has caused deep frustration and divided Greek society. Since the late-2000s financial crisis, the Euro-zone has established and used provisions for granting emergency loans to member states in return for the enactment of economic reforms. In addition, the Euro-zone has enacted measures such as limited fiscal integration and peer reviews of each state’s national budgets. So even if the current Greek politicians did not correctly An elderly woman begs outside the Athens headquarters of the Bank of
exploit the money entering the country by making real invest-
Greece. The graffiti reads “Police, your children will eat you.”
ments in the internal economy, and even if they over-borrowed
(Photo: AFP)
from banks and other countries inappreciably, that doesn't di-
combined with high levels of unemployment, has resulted in widespread disenfranchisement amongst the youth.
minish the responsibility of other members of the Euro-zone. Speaking at the annual meeting of the International Monetary
When young people were asked, "what are your plans
Fund, the head of the Eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, made a
for your future?" as part of a Deal News poll, 36% answered "to
controversial statement: "The Greek crisis could have been
create my own business," 34% "to work as an employee in the
avoided, but not with the address of the last one or two years,
private sector," 10.7% "to move to a rural area and engage in
but two or three decades before. I knew that even France and
agriculture," while only 5% desired “to work in government.”
Germany have earned huge sums from their exports to Greece,
Expressing a similar sentiment, 67% of respondents saw the
but I could not say in public what I knew...” This was a state-
public sector as "the main obstacle to economic development of
ment that shone new light on the problem and added a new layer
the country.” Given that 64% of respondents answered that
to the Greek debate about Euro-zone confidence.
“unemployment” was the “biggest problem facing young people in the country,” the threat exists that Greece will experience a “brain drain” of its young bright minds. When asked, "if you had the
As young people, we don't want to be-
While lacking a direct role in policy formation, it is the youth of Greece, and the wider continent, that will have to live with the consequences.
chance, would you leave Greece?" 66%
lieve that our membership in the Eurozone was fruitless and that all these years of a flourishing economy were an illusion. It is a fact that the common currency and the cooperation in financial
of young people answered "yes," while only 22% answered
policy were very helpful for our country. It was seen as a great
"no." As a Greek youth, it is true that these circumstances make
boost to our economic stability and it was the main pillar of our
us even more pessimistic about our future, but it also makes us
financial activities.
strive even harder for a just society full of opportunity. We real-
This economic crisis has hit all of Europe hard, so it means
ize in our everyday life that many people have lost their jobs and
that the economic framework which all Euro-zone members
that recent graduates with remarkable degrees, skills, and poten-
followed has failed. It is up to today’s leaders to make necessary
tial remain unemployed.
changes to reform basic principles and policies in order to safeguard the economic stability in the future. While lacking a direct
Continental Dimensions
role in policy formation, it is the youth of Greece, and the wider
It is also important to examine the European dimension of the
continent, that will have to live with the consequences.
problem. Many young people who are skeptical of the EU’s response to the Greek debt crisis refer to the “European responsibility” to assist Greece. At the same time that Greece tries to settle its debt crisis, there is the persistent threat of wealthy EU members revolting against the Greek rescue package if its conditions are not seen as
Maria Stamatopoulou is a graduate student in the International and European Relations program at the University of Piraeus, Greece. She is a member of Youth Atlantic Treaty Association, interning at the Greek Association for Atlantic and European Cooperation (G.A.A.E.C).
tough enough. The concern that Athens will fail to meet its tarAtlantic Voices, Volume 2, Issue 3
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