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Publications \ Opinion Articles

Pavlos Efthymiou: After the UK Referendum, the Main Trial: Save Europe!

People in Britain were heavily misinformed vis-à-vis the ‘costs’ and ‘burdens’ of the EU, and this issue was only partially tackled and very late in the course of the campaign. All in all, the kind of anti-establishment, anti-elitist, anti-globalisation, anti-immigration rhetoric which has been gaining ground continentally, is populism at its worst. The ‘decent’, ‘hardworking’, ‘every-day’ people whose best interests European populists claim to have at heart are, sadly, in …Read More

Antonis Kamaras: The tragedy and last minute triumph of the Greek commons

The tragedy of the commons ‘denotes a situation where individuals acting independently and rationally according to each’s self-interest behave contrary to the best interests of the whole group by depleting some common resource’. This article will make two points. First, that Greece coming so close to exit from the Eurozone, reflects typical ‘tragedy of the commons’ dynamics. Second, that the near certainty of euro exit, catalyzed by the resounding ‘no’ …Read More

Dimitris Katsikas: The final mistake in a bad negotiation

The decision to hold a referendum on the creditors’ proposal is the final act in a drama that started five months ago, when the new Greek government initiated a new round of negotiations with the country’s creditors.In my view, the decision to hold a referendum is a mistake, maybe the last one, in an overall bad negotiation. The Greek government made three key negotiating mistakes. Someone with basic knowledge of the history …Read More

George Lilis: Latest developments make an interim agreement a little more tangible

Several developments in recent weeks have led to a change of circumstances and thereby the strategy of both sides is bound to change as well. On the one hand, they are trying to avoid a possible crisis of the Eurozone edifice as a result of a new Greek bankruptcy and a possible Grexit. On the other hand, they wish to avoid the strengthening of extremist parties in the EU and …Read More

Yiannis Kitromilides and Thanos Skouras: “Greece and the Eurozone Crisis: Two Narratives”

The ‘Greek story’ is in accord with and conveniently lends support to the widely-held view, especially in northern Europe, according to which the euro crisis is due to fiscal imprudence and excessive sovereign debt. The alternative and correct narrative recognizes the financial origin and the market malfunctioning, specifically in banking and construction, that caused the crisis. Moreover, it attributes the crisis to the Eurozone’s flawed architecture, which lacks the appropriate …Read More

Chara Georgiadou: Europe’s Japanese Winter: A Brussels view

There is a general sense that the crisis is far from being over yet and that it has three main branches; it is a government debt crisis, a banking crisis and a competitiveness crisis. EU’s current status is metaphorically identified as the beginning of a Japanese winter; A long period of economic stagnation where Europe will have to face an extremely slow economic growth for a whole decade more or …Read More

Ioannis Avramopoulos: Self-organized digital numismatic economies

Greece has suffered a prolonged period of economic crisis and contraction unlikely to end any time soon, although signs of recovery are on the horizon. Scientists and political leaders alike, not only in Greece but also internationally, are in a desperate search for methods to revitalize the Greek economy. The structural problems facing the Greek economy are perhaps not unique to this country, and the attention of the global community …Read More

Cyprus – A Year after the Bail-in

In March 2013 Cyprus experienced the shock of a depositor bail-in for its two systemic banks. Large capital inflows, bad banking practices, excessive construction activity and a general culture of over-consumption had created huge imbalances during the boom years of 2004-2008 (as described in “The Time of Truth for Cyprus”, Opinion Article No 5, March 2013). The global financial crisis burst the bubble and a painful adjustment was inevitable. The …Read More

Akis Sakellariou: The State, NGOs and the Rest

Certainly, recent revelations involving two Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in financial scandals did not come as a shock. In our country, NGOs have been identified with opacity and lack of accountability, with the exception of some luminous cases. In addition to showcasing the problematic institutional framework within which NGOs operate in Greece since the 1990s, these two scandals have offered an excellent opportunity to initiate a fruitful and meaningful public debate, …Read More

Xiarchogiannopoulou El., Aganidis P.: The Economic Adjustment Programmes and the resilience of neo-liberal ideas: The experience of Greece and the future of progressive politics

The evolution of the ongoing economic crisis from a financial distress to a sovereign debt one, has exemplified the resilience of the neo-liberal ideas in EU and has largely determined the neoliberal ideational perspectives of the European political economy of adjustment. Although the initial expectation was that the crisis would open a window of opportunity for a counter-paradigm to emerge, the reality has been much different. While the neoliberal policy …Read More