Germany is talking out of two side of its mouth. Juncker’s group of European finance ministers met Sunday and Monday and announced that Greece will get its next quarterly installment of money, 12 billion euros, only if the Greek Parliament passes austerity measures on June 30. This comes after Angela Merkel’s Friday announcement that the gentlemen’s agreement, modeled on the Vienna Initiatives, was OK and that Greek debt didn’t have to be restructured. Merkel pretends to give, and then she comes up with another objection. We are seeing a political game, folks.
The next meeting of the European finance ministers occurs July 3. They are to make a decision on the final payment to Greece. By then they will know about Greece’s vote on the austerity program.
The EU should just give Greece the money and not put conditions on it. Do they want Greece to drop out of the European Union? Do they want it to join Russia? Not that the Balkan country likes or trusts Russia. But they might make noises in that direction just to annoy Germany.
Germany, wake up to your new responsibilities. If you want to create the United States of Europe, you have to learn to give money American style — just to pay the country to be part of your group on the block.