By Antonia Dimou, Chair of the Workshop
 |
Members of the Workshop on “Why Did Greece
Collapse?” From Right to Left; Alexander
Moraitakis, president of NUNTIUS Financial Company, Sven Behrendt, Founder and
Managing Director, Geo Economica, Switzerland, Prof. Nikolaos Milonas of the National and Kapodistrian
University of Athens, Ms
Antonia Dimou, ISDA and CMED of the UCLA, and Prof. Panayiotis Petrakis, National and Kapodistrian University
of Athens
|
Economists and market analysts
have offered various explanations as to why a failure of the Greek economy
would have drastic impact on the European and United States economies. Within
these explanations, terms such as Gross Domestic Product, Sovereign Debt, and
derivatives are used, which at times can be quite confusing to someone who is
not educated in finance or economics. Wrapped up in these complicated terms
this special session will attempt to explain why Greece
has collapsed - or let us put it in the right frame, if Greece has actually collapsed - and why a failure of the Greek economy would have a negative if
not chaotic effect on Greece
itself, the EU and the US.
This session will address some
of the most critical questions that dominate the political and economic
thinking nowadays both in Greece
and in Europe. We will examine the scenario of
a Greek exit from the euro-zone and if Greece pulls out of the euro, what will
that mean for the single currency, what would that mean for the status of
Portugal, Italy, Spain, Ireland as well as the attitude of the markets even towards
France. What would European policymakers do at the moment of a possible Greek
exit to persuade investors and depositors that Greece was the exception proving
the rule of euro-unity? Is it utopian to expect member states to default and
remain within the euro-zone, and why is that so? According to some experts, “default, partial or otherwise, is an essential part of the
necessary debt-reduction programme”.
The question is: How should a rescue
package be organised centrally and in a manner that deflates the debt-recession
crisis, rather than inflame it further? We will also hear from our speakers if
there is a Proposal coming either from Greece
or Europe which can ensure fiscal stability.
As you know, Greece
heads in less than a month to new elections to produce a government
which government will almost certainly press to renegotiate the country's
bail-out terms.
Therefore, it will be interesting to listen in this session if
there is a Greek Plan that exchanges greater fiscal discipline for an
Investment-led Recovery Program.
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