How Greece joined the European Union

[francescool]

After World War II and Greece's Civil War, Greece had the opportunity to build itself back up again and renew it's a economy. A lot of European nations decided that creating a strong union would increase solidarity and improve the economy amongst the countries after World War II. Greece was influenced to sign the agreement and it officially join the European Union in 1981. There was a lot of back-and-forth on whether this was actually a good idea and whether it truly benefitted agrees to join. What do you all think?

 

[amygdalE]

All the joiners of that Union were deceived by the Secret World Government, which bought politicians by providing money (for the latter's success). The members never learned Disraeli's lesson: Those who control the finances of a country control [direct the fate of] that country. Greece and Italy have already lost their sovereignty and beauty; the United States (though not a member) is already rolling down, as its state of chaos attests. Communism/Globalism is triumphing, along with the arsonists and Coronavirus.

 

[Hash]

All the joiners of that Union were deceived by the Secret World Government, which bought politicians by providing money (for the latter's success). The members never learned Disraeli's lesson: Those who control the finances of a country control [direct the fate of] that country. Greece and Italy have already lost their sovereignty and beauty; the United States (though not a member) is already rolling down, as its state of chaos attests. Communism/Globalism is triumphing, along with the arsonists and Coronavirus.

I couldn't have put in a better way, having lived with Drachma and the transition into Euro.The biggest mistake in the modern history to join the EU by falsifying all the figures..... Even with those astronomical inflation figures, life was fantastic,the prices and cost of living were very affordable,and this was in Mykonos which was more than double the mainland.... whenever I went to Athina for long holidays and even winters, the cost of living was so much cheaper,I never met anyone who complained about living with the Drachma...then came the mighty Euro and every one was moaning and groaning about how expensive life had become...which is now the result and evidence of owing Hundreds of Billions.... Don't know the correct figures.... but read somewhere that it would be not before 2060 when the debt will be repaid,if at all!!.... every one I knew said this loan will not be repaid.....We also reckoned that Greece, had she not joined the EU would in 10/15 years time be the best country in Europe retaining it own currency.... but the lawmakers for sure would put enough pressure to unite and integrate into EU.... this is my opinion!

 

[greek_ggirl]

I couldn't have put in a better way, having lived with Drachma and the transition into Euro.The biggest mistake in the modern history to join the EU by falsifying all the figures..... Even with those astronomical inflation figures, life was fantastic,the prices and cost of living were very affordable,and this was in Mykonos which was more than double the mainland.... whenever I went to Athina for long holidays and even winters, the cost of living was so much cheaper,I never met anyone who complained about living with the Drachma...then came the mighty Euro and every one was moaning and groaning about how expensive life had become...which is now the result and evidence of owing Hundreds of Billions.... Don't know the correct figures.... but read somewhere that it would be not before 2060 when the debt will be repaid,if at all!!.... every one I knew said this loan will not be repaid.....We also reckoned that Greece, had she not joined the EU would in 10/15 years time be the best country in Europe retaining it own currency.... but the lawmakers for sure would put enough pressure to unite and integrate into EU.... this is my opinion!

Yes I agree, a big mistake that has cost Greece so much...

 

[Hash]

Yes I agree, a big mistake that has cost Greece so much...

They have managed to come to the open market several times and raise liquidity and this proves that there is confidence amongst the investors buying long term 20/30 year Bonds!
Evidently,as it is proven how resilient the Tourism Industry is,the Socialist Government back in 70s,80s did not allow any foreign investment to participate in Hotels and even 51/49% holdings...... How stupid is this??...and Spain owns nearly all of the Tourism Industry in the Latin American countries and Islands like Domenican Republic, Puerto Rico,Cuba, Costa Rica, etc....Groups like Meliá...look them up!!.. you will get a pleasant how Tourism Businesses flourish.... What our Greece is doing now with the Tourism Industry should have been happened 25 years ago,at least!.. Kalley Mera!

 

[Vangelis]

I think this is a 2-pronged question. Being part of the EU is one prong and sharing the same currency is the other prong. Definitely we should be part of the EU and frankly, there is no EU without Greece. But we should NOT have gone to the Euro. The poorer countries in the EU, particularly Greece and Spain have suffered greatly not being able to control their fiscal policy. If Greece had stayed with the drachma, it would have continued to be devalued which would have a double effect of making life affordable for the Greek population and making Greek products very competitive on the international market. Greece could have been a lot more than just servants to the world through the tourism industry.

It should be noted, however, that under the current government, many large organisations are opening offices in Athens and employing scientists and engineers locally rather than the brain drain that has been happening so far or university educated waiters and taxi drivers. This is a good thing for the country economically but again, it's a double-edged sword. The question remains do we want Greece to become just another trashy western country?

 

[k_tsoukalas]

I think this is a 2-pronged question. Being part of the EU is one prong and sharing the same currency is the other prong. Definitely we should be part of the EU and frankly, there is no EU without Greece. But we should NOT have gone to the Euro. The poorer countries in the EU, particularly Greece and Spain have suffered greatly not being able to control their fiscal policy. If Greece had stayed with the drachma, it would have continued to be devalued which would have a double effect of making life affordable for the Greek population and making Greek products very competitive on the international market. Greece could have been a lot more than just servants to the world through the tourism industry.

It should be noted, however, that under the current government, many large organisations are opening offices in Athens and employing scientists and engineers locally rather than the brain drain that has been happening so far or university educated waiters and taxi drivers. This is a good thing for the country economically but again, it's a double-edged sword. The question remains do we want Greece to become just another trashy western country?

I agree with this. I traveled to Greece in the 90s for the first time and it was glorious. I felt like I was spending A LOT of money, but because Greece was still on the drachma, it wasn't really a lot because of the exchange rate. Fast forward to around 2003 or so and Greece had switched to the Euro. It was EXPENSIVE. Stayed in a cute little place overlooking the caldera in Oia, Santorini and it was great but also a pricey vacation. At the time, I lived in Germany, and I was somewhat shocked that the prices in Greece were comparable to those in Germany! I was also living in Germany in 2010 during one of the bailouts, and I went to Greece that year. Seven years after that Santorini vacation, it seemed like Greece was falling apart. I spoke to a lot of Greeks during that stay, and pieced it all together. I also spoke to a lot Germans who used to visit Greece yearly for extended vacations when they were still on the drachma, but had stopped once it got too expensive. It really does seem to me that Greece should have stayed on the Drachma.