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They can kick them out of the EU/Eurozone and implement tariffs that will pay off these debts. It'll take decades but its doable if the Greek economy doesn't co

They can kick them out of the EU/Eurozone and implement tariffs that will pay off these debts. It'll take decades but its doable if the Greek economy doesn't completely collapse.

beat 11y ago
And there's the rub... the best way to get the debt repaid is to help the Greek economy recover, but prioritizing debt repayment over economic recovery drives the economy even farther downhill. And turning Greece into an economic pariah state with tariffs and other punitive measures is definitely a step in that direction. How are they supposed to recover if they can't engage in free trade? They could pull a Cuba and create a completely introverted economy - poor, but independent. But if they're doing that, why the hell should they kowtow to the EU or anyone else?
sgift 11y ago
No, they cannot. I have no idea where this lie started, but repeating it won't make it true: There is NO mechanism to kick Greece out of the EU/Eurozone and when the other governments try to do it the european courts will stop them.
- cjensen 11y ago
  The EU Treaty has rules regarding government debt. Greece violated the treaty by running a bigger deficit than permitted. Additionally, the Treaty does not allow for default on debt. The EU courts will require repayment. Your suggestion that the EU courts will stop a breakup with a country which is in complete violation of EU law is optimistic.
  - sgift 11y ago
    The consequences of breaking these rules are clearly defined, being forced to leave the union is not one of them. The european courts can force Greece to pay a fine if they decide that this is warranted. That is all. You cannot simply redefine the fines of a law after the law has been broken.
  - kawakiole 11y ago
    The treaty says nothing about default, and say absolutely nothing about the possibility of expulsion if a member goes over the deficit limit (or under any other circumstance by that matter), which by the way already happened to many countries including France without any major consequence. Next time, you might want to actually read the treaty before commenting on it.
sergiosgc 11y ago
This is completely false. Formally, there are no provisions for expelling a country from the EU or the Eurozone.

They can kick them out of the EU/Eurozone and implement tariffs that will pay off these debts. It'll take decades but its doable if the Greek economy doesn't completely collapse.

beat 11y ago

And there's the rub... the best way to get the debt repaid is to help the Greek economy recover, but prioritizing debt repayment over economic recovery drives the economy even farther downhill. And turning Greece into an economic pariah state with tariffs and other punitive measures is definitely a step in that direction. How are they supposed to recover if they can't engage in free trade? They could pull a Cuba and create a completely introverted economy - poor, but independent. But if they're doing that, why the hell should they kowtow to the EU or anyone else?

sgift 11y ago

No, they cannot. I have no idea where this lie started, but repeating it won't make it true: There is NO mechanism to kick Greece out of the EU/Eurozone and when the other governments try to do it the european courts will stop them.

cjensen 11y ago
The EU Treaty has rules regarding government debt. Greece violated the treaty by running a bigger deficit than permitted. Additionally, the Treaty does not allow for default on debt. The EU courts will require repayment. Your suggestion that the EU courts will stop a breakup with a country which is in complete violation of EU law is optimistic.
- sgift 11y ago
  The consequences of breaking these rules are clearly defined, being forced to leave the union is not one of them. The european courts can force Greece to pay a fine if they decide that this is warranted. That is all. You cannot simply redefine the fines of a law after the law has been broken.
- kawakiole 11y ago
  The treaty says nothing about default, and say absolutely nothing about the possibility of expulsion if a member goes over the deficit limit (or under any other circumstance by that matter), which by the way already happened to many countries including France without any major consequence. Next time, you might want to actually read the treaty before commenting on it.

sergiosgc 11y ago

This is completely false. Formally, there are no provisions for expelling a country from the EU or the Eurozone.