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The recession Greece is currently undergoing will soon return the country to the same level of GDP per capita as before its entry into the eurozone and therefore, its stay there can only be assessed as a complete failure. More and more economists, bankers and politicians seem to support this view, which seemed taboo just a year ago. This was shown by the conference Debating on Europe and its Currency, organized by The Economist magazine.
    Europe Editor of The Economist magazine John Peet summarized that there are errors still in the creation of the euro. It is not possible to design a building with no emergency exit. He admitted that, on the other hand, this would lead to a quick exit of ​​Greece from the eurozone. He explained that the lack of a lender of last resort for governments is also a big mistake and it has become very clear in recent weeks. Markets worry that Britain, for example, has a lender of last resort, but the eurozone countries do not have one and therefore, there is a capital flow from rich to poor countries. He said this looks like a debt crisis, but it is not. Actually, this is a crisis of competitiveness, which generates high debts. And overcoming it will take more time.
    "A lot has been done to keep the Greek government on the crest of the wave. Perhaps the PSI was a mistake, but Germany has had domestic reasons to insist on it. We want to keep Greece within and that is the reason to pay it for so long. But from now on, everything is in the hands of Greece. I am afraid that next year, it will not be able to achieve a small deficit due to the very high recession. Greece’s stay in the eurozone will be very painful for Greek citizens," the Economist magazine journalist admitted.
    Similar was the opinion of Thomas Mayer, Chief Economist at Deutsche Bank. "The monetary union theory was correct and it worked for 10 years. The credit bubble that is now collapsing was formed then. The monetary union is currently unbalanced, but why does not it break? It is because easy credits from markets were replaced by easy credits from the European Central Bank - low interest rates, unlimited period for their return. This is how the deficit of troubled countries is funded. This is the system of the euro at the moment. There are countries with budget surpluses, which fund countries with budget deficits. But this is not a sustainable system," said the prominent German banker.
    He is clear that in practice, there are only two options left in the eurozone - to make all states more flexible, so that their economies converge, which is very, very difficult and some may not cope, and the other option is for the eurozone to remain with fewer members. "Greece is an isolated case; there will be no PSI- involving private creditors in debt haircut - for other countries. If Greece leaves the eurozone, this will be an incentive for the others to make more efforts to stay within it. But the real problem is Italy. If it is in the situation of Greece at the end of 2013, then the eurozone will be facing a real danger of collapse," said Thomas Mayer.
    PSI or Private Sector Involvement seems to be the key word these days. "In terms of PSI, we should know that the devil is in the details. It is very important how it will be implemented. Many holders of Greek bonds have insurance and they would prefer the announcement of a credit event in order to get their money from insurance. Will the haircut be made under the British law? These are issues, which could ruin the PSI. There is a real danger of a new wave of emigration of the most prepared and even uprisings. What is the alternative - it is default. This will make the Greek debt serviceable," suggested Stergios Skaperdas, a Professor of Economics at University of California, Irvine.
    He recalled that the debt to GDP ratio after the PSI will be over 140 per cent, in 2020 – it will be 120 per cent, and this is an optimistic scenario according to the Troika’s estimates. This situation is very similar to the one the world experienced in the 1920s and 1930s, when the states applied continuous austerity measures, coupled with high unemployment rate and deepening recession. This is exactly the situation in Greece now. "Exiting the eurozone is going to happen anyway, so it is better for Greece to take things into its own hands. As Dr. Meyer has admitted, this is a very difficult situation and in my opinion, it will not last long. So, you should prepare to declare bankruptcy and to exit the eurozone. The Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Greece should be prepared because it is better to be ready when that happens," recommended the University of California Professor.
    The Director of the French Economic Observatory Henri Sterdyniak presented a completely opposite point of view and literally said that if the eurozone falls apart, the blame for this would be put on the selfishness of Germany, which is not willing to give its money to help disobedient countries. In the same vein is the opinion of the Professor of the University of Athens Panagiotis Ioakimidis who said with pathos, "The exit from the eurozone will mean exit from the European Union because it will be necessary to introduce restrictions on the free market of goods, capital and I fear, people too. Therefore, Greece will be incompatible with the basic principles of the European Union. I.e. we are currently talking about exiting the European Union and Greece will return to very old times. This would deprive us of € 3.5 billion per year, which the country continues to receive. Income would drop by about 50 per cent; the banking system would collapse. Political defeat will be irreversible for Greece and the greatest achievement of recent history will be destroyed."