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# taz.de -- After the Euro Summit in Brussels: Thus fails Europe
> Thanks to a loathsome alliance, Merkel and Schäuble have been able to
> impose all of Germany’s demands on Greece. The result is a regime of
> sanctions and coercion.
Bild: It’s beautiful: the Greek euro.
„If the euro fails then Europe fails“, Chancellor Angela Merkel once said.
But Europe also fails if the monetary union degenerates into an
authoritarian regime of sanctions and coercion. That is precisely what
happened at the chaotic Euro Summit in Brussels.
In an unprecedented walkover, Merkel and her Finance Minister, Wolfgang
Schäuble, have imposed all of Germany’s demands. They boil down to
punishing Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and his Syriza party, and making a
ward of Athens.
Not only are East German Treuhand style privatisation plans next on the
cards, the hated troika is once again set to take centre stage in Hellas.
At the same time, the parliament is being stripped of its power; it must
rubber-stamp all austerity and reform demands, and allow automatic cuts to
its budgets.
It was our admired Mr. Schäuble who conceived this coup. With his now
infamous Grexit paper he had already set the course prior to the summit. In
doing so, he accommodated the wishes of countries such as Finland, which
want to force Greece out of the euro and which have been demanding
collateral for any future aid.
## Hardliners from Helsinki
The alliance with the Finns is not new; Schäuble has been banking on the
hardliners from Helsinki for years. With their help, he also imposed his
terms upon Cyprus. This time however the right-wing populist „Finns Party“
are part of the government in Helsinki – a loathsome alliance, of which
Schäuble should be ashamed.
Just as shameful is the way Merkel and Schäuble have snubbed their
traditional partnerships. After forging their alliance with Finland and
other hardliners, they simply ignored all demands from Italy or France.
It’s no wonder that the Italian press is already referring to a new Berlin
Wall. France too is appalled at the authoritarian and egotistical German
approach; Schäuble’s threat of a „temporary“ Grexit had President Franco…
Hollande seeing red. He called the proposed five-year Grexit unacceptable,
insisting that Greece remain in the eurozone.
## German fiscal pact
Hollande successfully averted the temporary Grexit – but at what price? The
debt relief that Paris was demanding prior to the summit is now off the
table. Instead, Athens is obliged to implement the German fiscal pact this
very week – precisely the strict budget regulations that Hollande wanted to
get rid of following his election win in 2012!
One is almost tempted to admit that the Greek ex-Finance Minister Yanis
Varoufakis was right. On the Friday before the summit he cautioned about
Schäuble in his blog, accusing him of wanting to make an example of Greece
in order to discipline France. Varoufakis certainly wasn’t far off the
mark.
Translation: Hans Kellett
13 Jul 2015
## AUTOREN
Eric Bonse
## TAGS
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
Schwerpunkt Krise in Griechenland
Griechenland
Europa
taz international
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
taz-Texte zur Euro-Krise auf Englisch
## ARTIKEL ZUM THEMA
Democracy and the Greek crisis: Breaking Europe’s Stunned Silence
No longer does anybody in Brussels dare to resist orders from Berlin. Do we
want a Europe run by decree? It’s time for debate.
Schäuble’s role in Brussels: Merkel’s bogeyman
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s manner over the Greek conflict has been mostly
obliging, while her finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble played the role of
bad guy.
Economist about the ECB and Greece: Like setting off a nuclear bomb
The ECB denying Greece emergency loans would be blackmail, writes the
economist Martin Hellwig. A crisis like 1931 could be created.
Germany, Greece and the EU: Europe isn’t that German
What kind of a Europe do we want? Surely one that values solidarity. The
German course of austerity therapy has failed. It is time to correct the
mistakes.
After the Greek referendum: History in the Making
The outcome of the referendum is clear. Now more than ever it’s up to the
ECB, alongside the Greek government, to come up with solutions.
Grexit and the Eurozone: Destroyed confidence
The monetary system is based on confidence, and that confidence has been
shattered. The end of the monetary union is dawning – even if Greece
remains in the euro.
Angela Merkel and the Greek crisis: Is the Chancellor invulnerable?
Angela Merkel is prepared to push through a third aid package for Athens.
The opposition accuses her of wanting to help the Greek banks, not its
citizens.
Crisis in Greece: Europe’s helpless leftists
Syriza’s politics was a proposal for the system to show good will. This was
both naïve and impassioned.
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