Sant: Greek problem could become as dangerous as Ukraine

Greece could turn out to be as dangerous a problemn to the EU as Ukraine, unless the debt-ridden member state is treated with the farsightedness its problem requires, Labour MEP Alfred Sant ahs warned.

Sant made his statement at the key debate in plenary at the European Parliament in Strasbourg ahead of Thursday’s informal meeting of the EU’s heads of states in Brussels, who will discuss the situation in Ukraine, the fight against terrorism and the monetary and economic union.

“At the initial stages of negotiations with Greece, if any take place, brinkmanship could fast become the order of the day. If taken too far, this could lead to an unforgivable collapse,” Sant said of Greek demands to halve their €317 billion debt with the EU, the ECB and the IMF.

Sant said the bailout plan for Greece had not worked. “It has imposed too many sufferings on the Greek people. Therefore it must be radically restructured. Perhaps the eurozone too has to be restructured over the medium-term even if this will initially appear to be a weakening of the EU’s immense soft power in Europe and elsewhere.

“If negotiations with Greece are to go beyond brinkmanship, the values that must be asserted need to go beyond technical considerations to tap the sources of a meaningful solidarity,” Sant said.

Sant said that governments which have lent billions of their citizens’ monies cannot be expected to write off those amounts overnight. “However the people of Greece cannot be expected to give up for too long the prospects of a decent life. They only have one to live.”