Brexit will lead to EU ‘disintegration’ says Yanis Varoufakis

The leader of left-wing Greek party MeRA25 launched a new campaign aimed at the dismantlement of “corrupt” eurozone policies imposed by Brussels on member states. In a post on his party’s website, the former Greece Finance Minister under the Syriza Government lashed out against the “great powers” of the EU who he claimed forced his country’s economy to collapse.

He wrote: “When the bubble of loan-based ‘strong Greece’ burst, beginning on Wall Street, the ‘Great Powers’ intervened to secure the (bankrupt) Franco-German banks by imposing on the now-bankrupt Greek state the largest debt at the same time, they ensured the collapse of the Greek economy and the transformation of the country into a debt colony.

“Thus came the quadruple bankruptcy and the birth of Memorandum Greece: a bankrupt state, bankrupt banks, unsustainable businesses, families in despair.

“Everyone owes everyone and no one can pay.

“A tragedy for the vast majority of Greeks was seen as an excellent opportunity for the oligarchs.”

Mr Varoufakis said the further collapse of the eurozone would be an even bigger threat to Greece than Grexit, but warned the bloc his party would be prepared to take the country out of the common monetary institution unless it was drastically reformed.

We will use your email address only for sending you newsletters. Please see our Privacy Notice for details of your data protection rights.

He wrote: “Greece should not have entered the eurozone. The eurozone (as planned and as it continues to operate) was doomed to trigger banking crises that turn the European Union into an iron cage of self-sustaining, class-analgesic austerity resulting in its political and moral devaluation.

“But since the creation of the eurozone, the cost of leaving has been high for both the country leaving and the rest of Europe – which, in the event of the euro disintegrating, risks slipping into a postmodern version of the 1930s, which is why the DiEM25 prepared the program of economic and social policy Green New Deal for Europe.

“The aim of the New Green Agreement is to indicate the cuts that can work directly and therapeutically in the eurozone by transforming it from an Iron Cage of Austerity into an area of ​​common green prosperity.

“Regarding the most wintering and collapsing country in the eurozone – Greece – our position is simple: the expansion of debt bondage by 2060 is a threat to Hellenism much greater than the threat of Grexit.

“The parties of the Memorandum Bow (ND, SYRIZA, KINAL) may disagree with each other on how desirable the Memorandum policies are, but they agree that the worst that can happen in the country (they call it ‘disaster’) is the exit (or expulsion) from the euro.

“Others consider such an exit (Grexit) the best solution.

“MERA25 disagrees with both of these hierarchies: Grexit is neither the manual nor the optimal development!

“More specifically, we prioritise the three possible developments as follows:

“We welcome as an optimal development the implementation of the Institutional Sections that we have submitted to the Parliament for the Debt Restructuring through interconnection with the growth rates, within the eurozone (with the progressive European forces cooperating in the New Green Agreement for the EU).

DON’T MISS:
Macron lashes out against his own French citizens in outburst [VIDEO]
Emmanuel Macron to be beaten by Le Pen in first round [POLL]
Italy, Spain and France forge eurosceptic alliance to leave EU [EXCLUSIVE]

“We accept as a second good (and bad) development the expulsion of the country from the euro after the unilateral implementation of the Institutional Sections.

“We consider the perpetual reproduction of our debt bondage within the euro to be a manipulative development (something that is guaranteed by the non-implementation of the Institutional Sections and the policies of the current Memorandum Arch).”

The warning comes as the President of the European Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, said last week that the eurozone is heading for a double-dip recession as coronavirus lockdowns take their toll on the bloc’s economy.

Lagarde dashed hopes of a speedy recovery amid optimism that the mass roll-out of Covid jabs can pave the way for an economic boost. “Risks surrounding the euro-area growth outlook remain tilted to the downside but less pronounced,” she said. “The roll-out of vaccines, which started in late December, allows for greater confidence in the resolution of the health crisis.”

She added: “The start of the vaccination campaigns across the euro-area is an important milestone in the resolution of the ongoing health crisis.

“Nonetheless, the pandemic continues to pose serious risks to public health and to the euro-area and global economies.”

But President Lagarde insisted the eurozone economy probably shrank again at the end of last year, adding: “A decline in the fourth quarter will travel into the first quarter.”

Economists are increasingly predicting a slump in the first three months of this year as governments extend their lockdowns to curb the spread of mutant coronavirus strains.

European capitals have introduced a series of new measures as they ramp up protections against the health crisis.

The misery has been compiled by a bumpy start to the EU’s vaccine scheme, which has many of the EU’s largest economies lagging behind their international rivals in the roll-out of jabs.

Despite the gloom, Ms Lagarde hinted at a few “positives”, including the sign off for the EU’s €750billion recovery fund, a revival in manufacturing and the limited progress on vaccines.

She also claimed the removal of political uncertainty in the US, with Joe Biden replacing Donald Trump as President, comes as a welcome boost.

Ms Lagarde said the ECB would continue with its stimulus schemes to stabilise the EU’s economy over the coming months.

“In this environment, ample monetary stimulus remains essential,” she said.

Source: Read Full Article