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Greece does not want even a penny from Germany

05 March 2010 / 12:03:40  GRReporter
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"Greece does not want even a penny from German taxpayers," said in an interview with German news agency (Deutsche Presse-Agentur), Prime Minister Georgios Papandreou. He stressed that the country needs political support, rather than economic aid.

"Greece is one of the largest markets, buying from Germany. In 2008 Germany was the largest importer in the country - about 12% of total imports in Greece. Therefore it is in the interest of Germany, the Greek economy to be healthy and for it local development," concluded the Greek prime minister. In the interview, which the Prime Minister gave before today's important meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, he highlighted the fact that Greece is now required to pay twice as high interest rates for loans compared to the interest rates Germany and other European countries are paying. 

Though, the blame for this should not be thrown at Germany but at the irresponsible economic policy of the Greek governments throughout the years. Greece does not have good reputation among investors, so they borrow money with higher interest rate than they do to other stable economies such as Germany. The ambiguous statements of the Greek prime minister, who one time speaks of political support and other for long-term loan with low interest, aggravated the disciplined German taxpayers, who also cannot understand why Greece does not collect taxes from the wealthy Greeks, but it keeps looking to the German treasury.

The fact is that Greece is currently surrounded by financial "vultures" who are putting at risk Europe's monetary union. Meanwhile Christian-democratic members of Merkel's party suggested for Greece to announce a tender and bid its islands in order to meet its financial needs. These ironic statements triggered tensions in the party of Angela Merkel and prompted a wave of ironic print publications in the German press. Today’s headline of the German newspaper Bild Zeitung states "Sell the Acropolis and your islands”, and among other things, the newspaper puts price on the Greek civilization symbol €100 billion. These publications were preceded by a massive attack by the Greek media regarding the arrears of the Third Reich for Greece during the Second World War.

Few days ago Deputy Foreign Minister of Greece Dimitris Drutsas visited Germany and had numerous interviews in order to clarify that Greece does not want economic aid from either Germany or any other Euro-partners, noting that the country needs a clear statement of political support. Maintaining good tone, despite the hostile attacks, Mr. Drutsas said: "I heard about the offer to sell the Acropolis. This is not the right time for such proposals," was the laconic comment of Drutsas. 

Tags: Greece Economy Angela Merkel Acropolis Islands
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