Greece from aid plans but relieved, euphoric – international



The younger people no longer remember what it was like. The last aid action that Greece has controlled since 2010 ends Monday (20), with a healthier country, but marked by eight years of austerity measures.

After Portugal, Ireland, Spain and Cyprus, Greece (19659002) In three successive plans (2010, 2012 and 2015) the country received a total of 289 billion euros in loans. In eight years time, a quarter of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has evaporated – growth has returned in 2017 – and unemployment is only falling below 20%, after a maximum of 27.5% in 2013.

" is arrogant to say that everything is going well, "told Director General of the European Stability Mechanism, which is the current program, Klaus Regling, on Friday, SPIEGEL ONLINE. [RegReglingreglingoverzijn"vasterespect"

Like the economist Theodoros Stamatiou of Eurobank, many experts believe that aid plans were "inevitable", in a backward step in their

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, leader of Syriza, and his then Minister of Finance , Yanis Varoufakis, tried to change the second program on arrival.

– Vigilance for & # 39; years & # 39; in power in January 2015.

Despite a "on the back of the Greeks to the creditors, Tsipras was forced by a referendum to sign the third aid plan in July of that year to prevent Greece from being put out of the euro.

All the major parties, including the Syriza, now seem convinced of the validity of the seriousness, which is good, says Professor of Economics Nikos Vettas, according to which "nobody believes in a new fall of Greece."

A general sentiment shared although Gabrile Colletis, Professor of Economics at the French University of Toulouse 1, very critical of support plans, see "still an inevitable social unrest" in Greece.

The country, which had a budget surplus in 2016 and 2017 (the debt burden not counting) of around 4%, the creditors' requirements are still not completely free, but the new reforms for 2019 and 2020 had to be laid down in advance and years under supervision. In this context, the Fitch rating agency has just raised the Greek debt note to "BB -"

Most economic figures do not translate into reality for the Greeks, although

Vettas insists "a strong need for" strong growth to create "in the coming years, which goes beyond the expected 2% per year," without which families will continue to suffer. "

In this context, the Greek press

On Saturday summed up the newspaper" Ta Nea " , the next opposition, the sense of irony that ruled: "August 21, zero hours. aid plan is over, the nightmare continues. "


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