Give Greece a chance

07/07/2015

In the referendum of July 5, 2015 the Greek people rejected by the overwhelming percentage of 61% the creditors' proposal of June 25th. This does not indicate a desire to exit from the eurozone or the European Union, but a mandate for the Greek government to find a solution within the European context, in a way that gives breath and hope to the Greek economy and society. Besides, that is how the government itself interprets the referendum result. Yesterday's initiative of the Prime Minister to convene a Council of political leaders, which resulted in the formulation of a common position of the participants (excluding the General Secretary of the Communist Party) for the forthcoming negotiations with creditors was very felicitous.

These negotiations are of utter urgency because at this moment the Greek economy is being strangled by capital controls that have been imposed directly or indirectly by the ECB. From an economic point of view, Greece seems at the moment to be like a beleaguered city. If this strangulation continues for a few more days or a few weeks, destruction will be irreversible. The creditors should understand that it is not in their interest to turn Greece into a "black hole" on the economic map of Europe. European integration cannot proceed on the basis of economic terror. Give Greece a chance.