Greece has arguably been hit tougher by the EU’s a number of crises during the last 15 years than every other member state. But as Stella Ladi explains, the nation has remained dedicated to European integration. She argues that as Donald Trump’s presidency ushers the EU’s permacrisis into a brand new section, Greece ought to maintain its position as a central participant within the EU.
Within the final 15 years, Greece has been on the coronary heart of a number of world and regional crises that formed its relationship with the EU. Beginning with the Eurozone disaster, and thru the migration disaster and the COVID-19 pandemic, Greece has regularly reinstated its place as a rustic that’s prepared and in a position to form and strengthen frequent EU responses to rising crises.
The turbulence in transatlantic relations in the course of the second Trump administration highlights that the period of permacrisis is just not over and crises, from safety to commerce, are more likely to proceed. As such, Greece must navigate this new section by insisting on its strategic and values-based alternative to stay on the core of the EU, defend western values (in spite of everything most of them stem from Greek civilisation) and assist form a typical EU response to those new challenges.
This isn’t solely related for Greece but in addition for different EU member states that want to see the EU consolidate its geopolitical and regulatory energy globally, reasonably than pursue asymmetrical bilateral agreements with the US.
The Eurozone disaster
Probably the most traumatic expertise within the relationship between Greece and the EU was the 2008 worldwide monetary disaster. Because the nation was getting ready to default, it sought monetary help from the EU. What adopted was a turbulent ten-year interval mired by three Financial Adjustment Programmes. Consequently, a minimum of 4 completely different governments have been referred to as to implement a complete of 123, often controversial, reforms.
As anticipated, the Greek-EU relationship went by way of ups and downs throughout this decade. There have been excessive factors resembling when Greece was passing the periodical opinions of the Troika and tranches of the loans have been launched and there have been low factors such because the 2015 referendum that nearly led the nation out of the Eurozone.
There was additionally a contented ending when Greece exited the Third Financial Adjustment Programme in 2018, and the nation managed to revive and stabilise politically and economically. However, the interval of the Eurozone disaster was the primary time since Greece joined the European Communities that Euroscepticism rose. Nevertheless, it was a smooth Euroscepticism since residents have been rejecting the EU’s financial insurance policies of austerity however not the nation’s EU membership.
The migration disaster
In 2015, Greece grew to become the epicentre of a migration disaster that affected the EU and was perceived as a European disaster. A couple of million refugees arrived on the EU’s borders – 860,000 of them in Greece – bringing to the fore points resembling duty sharing, solidarity and the viability of the Widespread European Asylum System.
This inflow coincided with one of the acute phases of the Eurozone disaster when Grexit was an actual chance. There was a typical feeling within the nation that the principle duty for tackling the immigration disaster lay with the EU since Greece had no means to handle such numbers by itself, whereas most refugees didn’t wish to keep within the nation.
But, whereas the 2015 immigration disaster actually fed rising Euroscepticism, it was not sufficient to foster arduous Euroscepticism. By 2016 an settlement on relocation was achieved, monetary help for the administration of the disaster had arrived and the EU-Turkey Assertion of March 2016 eased the issue, though the morality of the settlement was nonetheless questioned within the EU and Greece.
The COVID-19 pandemic
Earlier than too lengthy and only a 12 months after Greece exited its Third Financial Adjustment Programme, the COVID-19 pandemic erupted and was instantly seen as a disaster that needed to be handled on the European stage. EU help began flowing to the member states, together with funds for the acquisition of protecting gear, the institution of inexperienced lanes for important employees and sufferers in order that they may cross borders simply, and the SURE programme that aimed to mitigate unemployment dangers.
Nevertheless, the sport changer occurred in 2020 with the creation of the €750 billion Subsequent Technology EU (NGEU) plan to fight the financial results of the pandemic, with a lot of the funds being directed to the Restoration and Resilience Facility (RRF). A complete of €30.5 billion was directed to Greece.
In flip, the nation adopted its Nationwide Restoration and Resilience Plan in 2021, with the European Fee praising it for its substance and fast supply. It was at this level that the connection between Greece and the EU began to fix, demonstrating domestically and to fellow member states that Euroscepticism is just not the one recreation on the town, even for a rustic that was so severely hit by disaster.
The Russia-Ukraine battle
The subsequent disaster for the EU occurred in 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. The EU’s response was a lot faster and simpler than in the course of the 2014 invasion of Crimea. The EU managed to agree on sizeable and unprecedented sanctions in opposition to Russia in simply a few weeks. To enrich this, the EU dedicated monetary assist and initiated accession negotiations with Ukraine.
Greece rapidly aligned with the core of the EU and took a stand for a decisive response to Russia’s aggression, regardless of its conventional ties with Russia. This was in keeping with its overseas coverage preferences for collective solidarity and the respect of worldwide regulation in view of its personal safety challenges with neighbouring Turkey.
The battle in Ukraine supplied a possibility for Greece to additional consolidate its place within the Euro-Atlantic neighborhood and strengthen its credibility. It supplied navy help to Ukraine and showcased its geopolitical significance by offering the port of Alexandroupolis as a transit for American navy gear to Jap Europe and Ukraine. Moreover, the port developed right into a centre for Liquefied Pure Gasoline, boosting Greece’s significance for the EU’s power safety technique.
Trump 2.0
The primary months of the second Trump administration have given a transparent sign to the EU and Greece that the following 4 years are going to be unpredictable. Throughout these first few months, Greece has made a transparent alternative to face behind all EU initiatives in response to the tariffs introduced by the Trump administration and the potential US withdrawal from Ukraine.
It additionally wants to remain on the core of the ReArm Europe plan with the identical enthusiasm that it confirmed within the EU’s response to Russia’s aggression in opposition to Ukraine in 2022. Such a principled and unwavering stance will additional consolidate its geopolitical place inside Europe and past. Whereas the connection with the US stays central and can hopefully not be too strained within the subsequent 4 years, the EU stays Greece’s geopolitical and socio-economic residence.
Notice: This text provides the views of the writer, not the place of EUROPP – European Politics and Coverage or the London Faculty of Economics. Featured picture credit score: European Union
