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.

„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 Francois 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

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ARTIKEL ZUM THEMA

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.

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.

The ECB denying Greece emergency loans would be blackmail, writes the economist Martin Hellwig. A crisis like 1931 could be created.

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.

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.

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 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.

Syriza’s politics was a proposal for the system to show good will. This was both naïve and impassioned.